What the heck am I doing here?
© 2008-2024 Alan May, World Rights Reserved.
Evanston Real Estate, North Shore Real Estate
ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2011
21
Comments
In the Money & Real Estate section of today's Chicago Tribune, Mary Ellen Podmolik puts forward five, what they call, Crazy Money Ideas for todays' investors. They are deemed "not for everyone, for they might work for some". They suggest buying a vacation home as early as you possibly can. Quot...
07/31/2011
17
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Short Sales The final frontier There are the stories of the real estate market gone awry. It's five-year (?) mission: to explore strange new loopholes, to piss off new asset managers and new banks to boldly go where no Realtor has gone before. These are the adventures of Realtors in the grip of a...
07/29/2011
34
Comments
The Geezers have returned to Capistrano. Okay, we're not really Geezers and it's not Capistrano. Well, at least it's not Capistrano. Last night was the night for our annual visit to the boat docked at Montrose Harbour. And, yes, for those of you who follow my blog, this is the same guy whose boa...
07/28/2011
73
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"Hi, my name is Alan May and I'm with Coldwell Banker... and I'd like to show your property on Sunday between 1:00 and 2:00." "Oh, I'm sorry. I need to accompany showings and I'm just not available this Sunday, my daughter's getting married." "Hey" I replied "congratulations! Can you have your...
07/27/2011
42
Comments
I've run into an interesting phenomenon while showing properties lately. I routinely send listings to my clients via e-mail, and they look through the properties, (I call them "virtual showings") and send me back a list of the ones they'd like to view. I print up a nice booklet, for my clients, o...
07/25/2011
32
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"Hello, is this Alan May?" [clearing the sleep from my voice] "uh, yeah..." "This is Shaquanda, from WeAin'tSelling Real Estate. I'm calling to inform you that the appointment that you made for your 9:00 showing this morning at 1234 Driftwood Lane has been cancelled." "I don't have an ...
07/23/2011
Tying in with a theme this morning. Laurie Jarrett, a Texas (Tejas) Realtor, wrote a post about a caller who out-and-out told her that she was prejudiced against Mexicans. Laurie struggled a bit, 'cause she was surprised to hear someone that upfront and apparently proud of being prejudiced. Kare...
07/21/2011
15
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Private Mortgage Insurance used to be a formality, a true "Rubber Stamp". Those days are gone. Just like lenders, PMI companies are becoming pickier and pickier. Particularly in areas that are still rated as "declining markets" Almost all loans that are putting down less than 20% require PMI,...
07/20/2011
18
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For at least the last 5 years, perhaps longer, major U.S. newspapers, radio stations and television networks have been latching on to the findings of the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller index, which, unless you've been living under a rock, you know, reports the condition of the U.S. housing marke...
07/20/2011
40
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Random thoughts on how to help your listings sell. (all of these things are true events that have actually happened to me in the past 10 days) * Make sure they're not available for showing. * Have the tenants strew their dirty skid-marked underwear all over the bedroom floor... that's right, coul...
07/18/2011
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Alan May
Home is where the hearth is.