valuelist real estate services: "Help, I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up!" - Rebuilding Credit After A Bankruptcy
- 06/12/08 07:08 AM
"Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!" While better known from the Lifealert commercials, it's also something that folks who for one reason or the other have had to declare bankruptcy know a little something about.
The reasons that a person declares bankruptcy are varied and can include a nasty divorce, a job loss, illness, bad planning, poor decision making, as well as probably almost as many reasons as there are people who file for protection from their creditors.
Some of the situations were probably avoidable whereas some probably were not. For the purposes of this discussion, it really doesn't … (45 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: Credit Repair.....the sixth in a series
- 07/03/07 05:23 AM
To those of you who haven't been following this series, this is the sixth in a series on how to repair your or a client's credit. It's not intended as any kind of scam on the credit bureaus, but rather a realistic method of dealing with negative credit that will put a prospective home buyer back into a position where their credit is good enough to buy a home. If you are interested, please feel free to click on the links to read the articles in order: Credit repair 1, Credit Repair 2, Credit Repair 3, Credit Repair 4 and Credit … (7 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: Dracula's Castle For Sale!
- 07/02/07 08:56 AM
Real Estate For Sale, Romania - Located near beautiful Brasov, Romania one very lovely and ornate castle. Believed to have been home to Vlad the Impaler for at least one night this castle is generally considered to be the one and only, Dracula's Castle! Built in 1212 and rehabbed in the late 1980's is being offered for sale and is expected to bring somewhere near $135,000,000.00. The Romania government retains the right to match any offer.
I wonder if it comes with a home warranty?
Bob Mitchell
ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.
The Property Is Being Marketed By Baytree Capital of New York
… (3 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: Losing Weight In The Real World
- 07/02/07 05:00 AM
Have you seen the commercials on television or heard them on the radio about how you can lose up to X number of pounds in just 2 weeks with this diet plan or that machine? The one that I hate the most is the one from Nutri-system that entices you to buy their meals, meals that are meant to help you lose weight, by offering you more food! Isn't that part of the problem? I've been too motivated by food in the first place?
I understand why people are in a hurry when it comes to losing weight. It's a amazing how … (4 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: Credit Repair....the forth in a series
- 06/27/07 06:53 AM
Wow, now I know how David Chase must have felt....how do I end this? Does Tony need to bite the big one?;-) Anyway, if you haven't been tuning in this is the forth in a series about how to repair credit. I'm writing it with the public as my intended reader, but am also keeping in mind real estate agents and loan officers who might be able to benefit from the fact that by helping these people, you can build a loyal client base that is trained to refer you business!
If you haven't read the previous posts in this series, here … (1 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: Credit Repair.....the third in a series
- 06/26/07 05:14 AM
In the first two posts in this series, Credit Repair 1 and Credit Repair 2, we went over the first steps in a process to repair damaged credit. These steps were:
1) Find a good loan officer to help you with your project - a referral from a producing real estate agent is a good place to start your search.
2) Have a tri-merged credit report with public records checked pulled on yourself - not one of the free ones that you can get on-line, but rather a complete credit report as a mortgage company would use for underwriting.
3) Go over the credit … (3 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: I Don't Want To Reduce My Price Any Further!
- 06/25/07 07:28 AM
I just read a post about home sellers being in denial over the fact that the market has changed. As I was reading it I had to ask myself if that was true about myself. Was I in denial about the two homes that I currently have on the market?
They both have me perplexed. The one I've actually sold twice in the high $170's, though neither buyer was able to finish the transaction. We currently have it on the market $15,000 less than that. The other is priced $5,000 dollars below everything else in our area and about $10,000 … (24 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: Credit Repair....the second in a series
- 06/23/07 08:07 AM
Alright, so you've made your calls and have talked to a real estate agent who referred you to a competent loan officer who is willing to take you on as a project. Cool! Did you get some of their business cards to pass out for them? If not, call them back up and have them get you some!
The second step in this process, after finding a qualified loan officer, was to have the LO pull a tri-merged credit report with public records checked. As I mentioned in the first post, "Credit Repair....the first in a series", getting a tri-merged report with … (0 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: Credit Repair...the first in a series.
- 06/22/07 12:23 PM
I recently wrote a post on credit repair that was over-whelming in the lack of response that I got. I wrote a follow up post on the fact that I didn't get any comments on the first post and it was pointed out to me by Broker Bryant that it might have been too long, considering the amount of detail that I had to go into.That said, I'm going to break it down into at least three, easy to digest segments:Today's Topic:Hook up with a "for-real" loan officer. Not someone who wears a head set and plays nerf basketball for some … (7 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: What Do An Oak Tree And A Trolley Car Have In Common?
- 06/19/07 03:59 AM
I've always been a bit of a history buff. Not the kind who revels in the details or the dates, but rather the kind that feels a certain sense of awe looking at an old house or tree and realizing that it stood during a time before ours.
I felt this sense of awe the other day when I was visiting the small town of Bardwell, Kentucky. In my girlfriend's mother's back yard is a giant old oak tree. I have no idea how old it is, but judging from the size of the trunk (I would guess that it would take … (4 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: Customer Service - Real Estate Is # 1!
- 06/18/07 07:26 AM
Many of you have read one of my rants before about how there are too many real estate agents and how the level of professionalism needs to be raised in the real estate industry. This post in no way negates these views, but I do have to call a spade a spade. Compare real estate to any other industry in terms of customer service and you'll be hard to come up with one that does a better job than real estate agents.
Over the weekend I was reminded of this when I had to go out of town to a small town … (3 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: How I Got Into The Real Estate Business
- 06/13/07 07:51 AM
I was 23 years old and had just had a close encounter with the United States Marine Corp when I got into the real estate business. I had signed up for the Marines because they had a program that would guarantee me either law school or flight school. I was excited by either prospect and was pretty gung ho about being a marine.
I took the various exams and scored well enough to where I could pretty much pick any specialty that I wanted. I chose Intelligence Specialist and started to get ready for boot camp. The plan was that I would … (4 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: My 100th Posting! Hmmm, I've Got To Make This One Good! ;-)
- 06/11/07 04:56 AM
Wow! I can't believe that this is my 100th posting here on AR. I have been thinking about what to write about and I figured that I would examine my experience here on AR and highlight some of the posts and people that have stood out for me.
First, the posts. In a sense, I could highlight them all because I think that the greatest amount of learning that I've done here on AR has been from my reading of posts every day. Yeah, some of them aren't great works of art and some are measurably better than others, but it's … (8 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: Arnold Missouri Bargain Car Wash!
- 06/10/07 06:39 AM
Every once in a while you come across a real bargain and a while back I did and I thought that I would share it with you. If you live near Arnold, Missouri and need to wash your car you should check out the old car wash on Tenbrook Road just off of Jeffco Blvd.
It might not look like much, but I've been going there for over a year now and the equipment has always worked well and they have an abundance of cycles to clean your car with. Most importantly, you get a generous amount of time to wash … (2 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: The Best Retirement Plan That I've Ever Seen!
- 06/08/07 05:35 AM
One of the cool things about being in our industry is that we get a glimpse into other people's lives from time to time. A few years ago I got a glimpse into a client's life and I was truly impressed with what he had accomplished and how he had accomplished it.
This gentleman was about 50 years old and an engineer by trade. I was refinancing his primary home and it turned out that he had substantial investment real estate holdings. In fact, he owned over 90 single family homes. Some of which were already paid for and many that were … (4 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: What Are They Doing With The Money?
- 06/07/07 07:18 AM
Yesterday I noticed something. Two properties that I had listed had both sold three years earlier. When I was doing my research for the listing presentations, I noticed that the property taxes on each had gone up over 40% in that three year period. One of the properties was paying a bit over 49% more taxes now, than three years ago.
This made me wonder...What the hell are the various counties and cities doing with all of this extra tax revenue? If you look at how real estate values have skyrocketed in the last 5 or 6 years, their coffers have to … (2 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: St. Louis Day Trip - Motorcycle Trip Down The Great River Road From Columbia IL
- 06/05/07 02:42 AM
Yesterday I posted about the first part of my motorcycle weekend, "St. Louis Day Trip Riding Around Town and Down To Dutzow MO And Back" where my girlfriend and I rented a Harley Davidson and went for a ride in the rain. Well Sunday morning was a beautiful sunny morning with giant Bart Simpson like clouds.
We packed up the saddle bags and left our home in Oakville (which happens to be for sale and can be checked out at Home in Oakville for sale). We crossed the JB Bridge and headed south on the Great River Road. At first you … (0 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: Obey The Rules!
- 06/04/07 07:10 AM
I just read a post about a lady here on AR who's child bumped her head on the bottom of a pool and spent her Sunday in the emergency room. Thankfully, things for this lady turned out okay. And while I in no way wish to infer that the lady or her child were not obeying the rules regarding pool safety, when I read that post it took me back in time to when I was a lifeguard. That's why I'm writing this post.
I worked as a lifeguard from the time I was 16 years old until I was 19 and … (3 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: Closing Horror Stories
- 06/03/07 02:43 AM
I just posted a comment on a post about tardiness in the real estate industry. I commented that sometimes it can be difficult because listing appointments that most times only last an hour or so can end up running 3 and even 4 hours. The same thing with loan applications.
Then I mentioned those nightmare closings that just about all agents experience every once in a while and that got me thinking. What's your best "Nightmare Closing" story?
I've been in the business since 1984 and have worked in management positions where I've had to jump in for an agent or a loan … (6 comments)
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valuelist real estate services: The Importance of Getting Pre-approved!
- 06/02/07 05:22 AM
Even if you have good credit, it's still important and beneficial to get pre-approved prior to starting your real estate search. There are numerous reasons and benefits, but the most important ones are:
1) You'll know how much home you can afford
2) If there are any surprises on your credit report, it's easier to get the problem taken care of before you have the time pressures of buying a home.
3) It makes you more like a cash buyer
4) You might be able to close quicker than someone who hasn't gotten pre-approved. If you go up against another buyer, this could sway the … (6 comments)
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"Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!" While better known from the Lifealert commercials, it's also something that folks who for one reason or the other have had to declare bankruptcy know a little something about.
;)
;)
