real estate: Viaduct... Vi Not a Goose?
- 11/25/08 01:26 AM
Sorry... I couldn't resist the shout-out to the Marx Brothers.
Well, cause you silly, silly people. We don't traditionally have a goose, it's really a Turkey!
Why a Turkey, you might ask? Well, since you asked so nicely...
There really isn't any actual evidence that turkey was served at the Pilgrim's very first thanksgiving, but over the years it became a part of the Thanksgiving tradition. And today, everyone school pagent includes turkey at the Pilgrims celebration. The tradition of turkey is based in the 'History Of Plymouth Plantation', written by William Bradford, about 22 years after the initial celebration. … (7 comments)
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real estate: Thanksgiving: A Realtor's Perspective
- 11/24/08 06:15 AM
Thanksgiving is a North American Holiday (yes, our friends to the North with the maple leaf on their flag celebrate Thanksgiving too... only on October 13, this year... the second Monday in October. Happy Canuck Thanksgiving Liz Moras!)... and in both cases it's basically a Harvest Holiday.
How can we, as Realtors, relate to Thanksgiving? While we've had a difficult year (or two)... we still have much to be grateful for (or should):
• We're grateful that our clients continue to consider us their resource for all things "Real Estate". They call us with regularity asking our opinion on the latest … (4 comments)
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real estate: Real Estate in the Cold
- 11/24/08 05:25 AM
Well, Winter has officially arrived in the Chicagoland area... we awoke this morning with a nice covering of snow on the ground.
A few things to remember when showing property in the cold weather.... whether the home is occupied or vacant.
• Please remember to close (and lock) the doors when you leave.
• Please remove wet or dirty shoes at the door... it doesn't do anybody any favours to trek dirt or water throughout the home, on carpeting or hardwood floors.
• If you turn up the thermostat (while you're there), please, please, please make sure to return it to … (4 comments)
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real estate: I Understand a Dark Horse...
- 11/22/08 02:48 AM
...but a Dark House?
Here's another prize-winning MLS photograph. Okay, I can understand that this photo might, and I say "might", be okay, if you only too the listing last night... and had the get the listing in the MLS immediately...
Go back the following day and retake the photo right? I can understand that... but this listing has carried this same photo for the past 97 days!!!
It's a terrible photo... you can't see the house at all. I'd be embarrassed if my daughter had taken it. It's a better photo of the BlancoBronco in the driveway, than of the … (11 comments)
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real estate: Why Men Shouldn't Write Advice Columns
- 11/21/08 01:13 AM
Dear Walter,I hope you can help me. The other day, I set off for work, leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't driven more than a mile down the road when the engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help.When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with the neighbor girl! I am 32, my husband is 34, and the neighbor girl is 22. We have been married for ten years. When I confronted him, he broke down … (19 comments)
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real estate: A Communist Plot?
- 11/20/08 06:05 AM
Fluoridation in our water has been a major issue, in the U.S. since the 1940's. The idea behind adding a controlled amount of fluoride to our water was an effort to reduce tooth decay. Proponents have said that a controlled amount of fluoride in the drinking water of a community can help substantially reduce decay in the population.
I live in Evanston, Illinois which was the second community in the entire United States to accept the idea of fluoridated water. Evanston began fluoridating it's water back in the mid 1940's, as part of a study. The study showed that Evanston had … (3 comments)
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real estate: I'm a Photoshop Wizard, There's Got to be a Twist!
- 11/20/08 01:23 AM
Here's this morning's scenario:
You make an appointment for a property. And the photo in the MLS is the one you see on the left. A nice looking home, no?
You haven't shown this house before, in fact haven't even driven past it, but on paper, at least according to the MLS listing sheet it says:
"Magnificent new construction home, in XXX school district. Craftsman home, [doesn't look Craftsman to me!] offers gracious living, walk distance to XXX Park, preschools and downtown Evanston. Hardwood Floors thru out, 9 foot ceilings. This is a pre short sale, a perfect project or the … (9 comments)
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real estate: Charles did a rotten thing
- 11/19/08 02:34 AM
I thought that Charles Buell was my online friend. I thought that Charles liked me. I thought that... well, never mind what I thought. I can't believe that Charles has done this to me (or should I just call him Charlie?).
He sent me a Bookworm MeMe". - heavy sigh -
What is a "Bookworm MeMe", you ask? Well, as charles explained it in his post, here are the rules.
DA RULES according the Charles:
1. Grab the nearest book (cannot be the bible)2. Open the book to page 563. Find the fifth sentence4. Post the text of the next two … (15 comments)
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real estate: Fill that Pipeline!
- 11/18/08 03:36 AM
My office is virtually empty! (And I don't mean my "virtual" office). Realtors in my office, are notably absent. They are taking advantage of the slow market, and taking days off, doing work around the house, playing Dungeons & Dragons, World of Warcraft... who knows what they're doing?
What they're NOT doing, is a lot of open houses, taking "floor time" (or UPtime, as some of you call it), and working their sphere of influence. Taking the time to contact their old clients, just to touch base. Sending out notecards (Thank you Buffini 100 days to greatness) just to stay in … (3 comments)
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real estate: Because she's black!
- 11/17/08 12:13 AM
On our local ABC channel (channel 7, here in Chicago), last night aired a segment called "Beautiful Black" where they talked about Michelle Obama's potential impact on the self-images of "children of colour" here in the United States.
The thought that Michelle Obama might turn out to be a positive role model for black children around the world and at home, was not surprising...but what caught my attention was a small part of that story.
They reproduced a 1947 experiment, in which black children were asked to look at a black doll, and a white doll. Each child was given a … (15 comments)
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real estate: Create your own discount
- 11/16/08 08:27 AM
I'm running into quite a few buyers these days ... wait, let me rephrase that... many of the "few" buyers I'm running into these days, arrive with a philosophy, that "prices are still going downward", and therefore, they're not ready to buy, "until they've seen the bottom".
Predicting the bottom, is nigh unto impossible, and we probably won't recognize it was the bottom until after we've begun the climb up the other side. And from our vantage point on the way back upward (for those of us who'll be fortunate enough to still be around by then) we'll be able to … (6 comments)
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real estate: Naked Spoilers
- 11/16/08 01:11 AM
Be forewarned... in this video, the Fine Brothers SPOIL (give away the ending, or a secret, for those of you who didn't know what "spoil" meant) 100 movies in under 4 minutes... and for those of you who've seen this before.... THIS time, they do it NAKED! (kinda makes you wish we had political arguments back, doesn't it?) >
100 Movie Spoilers
for those who wonder "wha happun here?"... I removed the video, and replaced it with the link to the video, because as Russell Lewis was kind enough to point out to me... for those of you who opened this … (5 comments)
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real estate: The Dome of the Rock
- 11/15/08 03:20 AM
The Dome of the Rock, built in 691 AD (also known as the Mosque of Omar) is the third holiest site in Islam (after the Kaaba in Mecca and the Prophet's tomb in Medina). Located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, it is said to be the site of the Prophet Mohammed's ascent to heaven from the foundation rock venerated inside. Yes, that huge mosque surrounds a "rock" inside... (hence the name). Muhammad is said to have ascended to heaven on the back of his legendary horse el-Burek (who had the face of an angel, the body of a horse, … (0 comments)
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real estate: Days on Market?? How about Days on Planet?
- 11/14/08 04:31 AM
How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail, before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannon balls fly, before they're forever banned?
Oh, and how many days have you walked on this earth?....
er... wait... that's not how the lyrics go!? But have you ever wondered, just how many days you've been here? Well, here is a simple little calculator that will tell you the answer, and it's not just blowin' in the wind
… (16 comments)
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real estate: Mother Temple of the West
- 11/13/08 11:31 PM
We are fortunate, here on the North Shore of Chicago to have one of the architectural and cultural gems of the world right here in our front yard. I"m talking about the Baha'i Temple. There are seven existing Baha’l Houses of Worship in the world. Each has its own unique design, and yet conforms to a set of architectural requirements that give a unifying theme. It is required that all Bahai temples have a nine-sided circular shape, and that no pictures, statues or images can be displayed within, nor any altars or pulpits may be permanently affixed. As of now, all … (4 comments)
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real estate: Eight Gates of Jerusalem
- 11/12/08 04:55 AM
THE OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM, at one time, had eleven gates that pierced it's walls. Today it only has eight gates, but only seven of them are functional. This is an introductory tour to those gates.
Jerusalem literally translates as City of Peace, and it has been anything but peaceful throughout it's long existence. The large defensive walls built around it have protected the city for hundreds and thousands of years, but even they have been breached many times by many different cultures of the years. Jerusalem, and Israel have found themselves, unfortunately, at the crossroads where conquering armies travel. The … (23 comments)
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real estate: the Eastland Disaster
- 11/11/08 02:31 AM
Unless you've lived under a rock for the last 100 years, (and it'd have to be a big rock!) everyone has heard of the disaster of the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic. The titanic went to the bottom of the Atlantic on her Maiden voyage on April 15, 1912, and resulted in the deaths of 1517 people making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in History.
The Titanic was the subject of books, investigations, films, songs, and the vehicle that carried Leonardo DiCaprio to stardom.
But how many of you know about the Eastland Disaster?.... ahh... I thought not. Being in … (9 comments)
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real estate: Happy Veteran's Day
- 11/10/08 09:04 AM
HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!
Veterans Day is our opportunity to honour the service our men and women serving in the military. It happens once a year, every November 11, 2008. Take a moment to think about our good men and women who've served our country, both at home and abroad.
And save a good thought for all of our military in harm's way. Send up a prayer, wish them well, and hope they return home soon to their families, friends & communities who love and miss them.
They serve to protect and preserve our freedoms! And they also serve who sit at … (4 comments)
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real estate: What's That Smell?
- 11/10/08 03:49 AM
On Friday of last week, an event worthy of Halloween occurred here in Evanston. We were notified by the news that 3 dead bodies had been found in an Evanston home... where a 90 year old woman was living, and here's the kicker.... no foul play was suspected? Now how can you find 3 dead bodies in a house, and there be no foul play?
There was no fire... the furnace was fine, so there was no asphyxiation due to a bad furnace, or a space heater. It was not a suicide. As news came to the forefront, the bodies were … (27 comments)
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real estate: the RIGHT house and the GOLD coins.
- 11/10/08 12:42 AM
I recently had the good fortune to be asked to do listing presentations on two single-family homes. The homes were side by side on the exact same street. They were the same house, the same view, same school district, same, same paint color, same .... well, you get the idea.
To help you differentiate them, let's call them the LEFT house and the RIGHT house.
The seller of the LEFT house, had purchased it in 1964, and paid about $134,000 for this fabulous 3br/1.1 bath home. Since 1964 they'd updated the kitchen, updated both baths, and overall maintained the home in … (7 comments)
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Sorry... I couldn't resist the shout-out to the Marx Brothers.
;)
;)
;)
