real estate discussion: Is Stupidity The Only Reason?
- 05/07/13 07:30 AM
We know that real estate is local, and yet reading blogs on AR we run into statements, which are very general and often are very judgmental.
Often times reading comments, you see that we judge as if we have the exclusive on the truth….
And, of course, this truth is convenient for the agent or reflects his or her beliefs. It may be about lockboxes (of course, it is the only way to go), or use of Buyer Broker Agreements (you are crazy if you do not use them), or bonuses to selling agents (it is unethical and they will … (51 comments)
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real estate discussion: Real Estate Daisy: Ethical - Unethical...Ethical - Unethical...
- 06/30/12 07:08 AM
I posted I Would Love To Present The Offer To Your Seller... Can I?
The issue was a property listed as short sale, sitting 971 days on the market.
I thought that if I could present the offer to the Seller, I could most probably clarify some issues for the seller and have him/her agree to lower money but overall better deal. I called Florida Realtors Legal hotline and asked whether I can force the Listing agent to allow me to present the offer to the Seller, and the attorney said «No».
As far as I understand it is … (12 comments)
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real estate discussion: Want To Be Filthy Rich?
- 10/13/11 12:35 PM
I am getting inundated with Newsmax, and I can't figure out what this is. There is some very interesting stuff and there is some that raises the eyebrows or what's left of them...
Today I ran into this ad by some Preston Ely. I never heard of him before, no preconceived notions, or anything. All I see is this ad:
And, of course, it is all, according to Preston:
WITHOUT ever closing on them
WITHOUT using any money or credit
WITHOUT any risk whatsoever
WITHOUT any experience needed
WITHOUT any manual labor (I'm the laziest guy you'll ever meet)
… (20 comments)
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real estate discussion: What Experience Means
- 09/23/11 05:44 PM
I read an article about death rate of prostate cancer patients, and the study showed that chances of survival depend a great deal on the experience of the surgeon. They said that patients operated by surgeons with more than 300 prostate surgeries under their belt have better chance of survival.
I think there is some resemblance with real estate. I think that agents who have sold over 300 homes or condos have that experience that adds value to the transaction and makes it overall a better one.
And I would not be surprised with patients seeking an experienced surgeon when their … (10 comments)
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real estate discussion: Free Real Estate Advice. Yes...No…Maybe?
- 05/13/10 05:44 PM
Mini Samuel posted FREE REAL ESTATE ADVICE? NOT!
It is about the situation when you get call asking for advice about a real estate transaction while you do not work with the caller.
I do get such calls and it depends on the situation. I can be from my friend, who is not in this area, and calls me about a sale or purchase in some other state, and I am usually torn between trying to help them and the feeling that they should not have asked me as I do not know how things should be done there. For … (10 comments)
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real estate discussion: Induced Real Estate Coma
- 03/21/10 07:54 AM
I have a client, who happens to be a successful neuro-surgeon. He has the money to spend, and would like to invest. He claims he does not have any affection to the place he buys, he either gets what he wants or walks away and forgets it the next day. He is not a novice, has nearly a dozen of other properties in different places.
When he comes, there jokes all over, it is fun, but not for long as his phone rings, and he has to run back to the hospital. His day starts early, and he can be in the … (87 comments)
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real estate discussion: The Only Designation That Matters
- 02/04/10 04:43 PM
Ruthmarie Hicks posted Death by designation - or - if there are more initials after your name than IN your name you may be a "designation junkie"
What a great topic, and what a great way to put it. I was waiting for that post for a long time. Even for me, the insider, those abbreviations make little or no sense.
I recognize CRS, GRI, and CCIM, maybe a couple of others, but only due to unfair exposure to those in our daily lives of real estate professionals.
But I am an insider. For a "normal" Seller or Buyer even those … (17 comments)
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real estate discussion: To Blog Or Not To Blog? Is There A Question?
- 01/21/10 11:53 AM
Recently Nicholas Goglucci asked me in the comment: "Jon - You are always causing trouble lately - whats got into you?". I laughed, but then I thought that there may be a grain of truth. Not that I am trying to create a commotion, but I always thought that a little bit of controversy is healthy. It makes us think and then we can proudly say: "Cogito ergo sum" (and I do not like the translation "I think, therefore I am", but rather prefer "I am thinking, therefore I exist" as a more exact one).
We hear on AR calls for Members to … (16 comments)
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real estate discussion: Judge, Get My Virginity Back. I Did Not Enjoy The Sex!
- 12/12/09 03:43 AM
Bill Archambault posted A Very Bad Day For Home Owners And The Real Estate Industry. Read the post. I think it makes a lot of sense. It is about a decision by a New York judge to wipe out a $525,000 loan. Just wipe out. Not debt, no interest, nothing... Gotta be a sweet dream, but it is a reality, no matter how much you bruise yourself pinching to wake up...
It is shocking...
It is not shocking...
It can't be that the only person radically changing the course of the country is the President of the United States of America. So, … (25 comments)
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real estate discussion: Fixing The Economy. For Better or for Worse?
- 11/06/09 11:13 AM
There is a lot of hype about the extension of the Tax Credit. Some look at it both from a professional point of view, and from a personal perspective as a citizen. I understand that. I wrote about it in Are You Ready to Write a Check for $8,000?
Some are just happy and there is even a notion that all real estate agents gotta be ecstatic about it. Well, not me. And I hope not you.
I am trying to understand how could it happen that we became so narrow minded. We are against wasteful spending, but we are allowing the government … (19 comments)
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real estate discussion: Crossing The Lines or Voluntarily Blindfolded
- 10/08/09 01:22 PM
In these uncertain times some lines are new and are not clearly defined, and they may be confusing. Some, however, are clearly defined, and still there are professionals who cross them. Stories about agents and mortgage brokers are all over. Stories about attorneys are not as common.
So, when a few days ago I read about 27 attorneys in the State of Florida disciplined by the Supreme Court, I started reading the article to see what they did and how they were punished. 12 were disbarred, 8 were suspended, and 5 placed on probation, some publicly reprimanded. One was ordered to … (13 comments)
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real estate discussion: Staying In The Way Of Tsunami
- 07/12/09 04:09 PM
Just wanted to say that we are unrealistic, when we are demanding that people act honorably in this economic crisis.
Yes, lenders were pressed to start serving those who were, let's say, risky borrowers, but once started, then whoever joined, were getting loans right and left.
When we open the floodgates, the water rushes through and it takes everything with it. You may try to resist, but the mighty power of the flow will suck everyone into it. It is like staying in the way of a tsunami...
I think we opened the floodgates without any exit strategy, any idea how it might affect us … (12 comments)
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real estate discussion: To Pay Or Not To Pay...Why Are We Angry?
- 07/11/09 04:08 PM
The discussion about walking away from paying what we promised to pay did not leave us indifferent, absolutely not.
I think there is some unity in treating it the way that if you can pay, you have to pay, but if you can't pay, than family is more important, and you can walk away from the financial obligations. If this was business only, take the calculator, but than it does not matter whether you can or can't pay. It is what your calculator tells you.
And if we agree to use calculator in one scenario, but not in another, then this is a moral issue … (11 comments)
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real estate discussion: Show Me The Soul...
- 07/08/09 11:30 AM
It is an interesting journey, started with Richard Zaretsky's blog "WALK AWAY FROM THE PROPERTY - STRATEGIC MORTGAGE DEFAULTS GROW TO 26%", then Bryant Tutas accelerated it to a fascinating discussion with his Morally Wrong....OR...Financially Sound? . I bounced of it with Painfully Adjusting to the World.
Some great comments. Like this one below made by Lenn Harley. It is a strong and unforgiving account of the mess we are in. Lenn's position, often seen in bits and pieces in other comments, is spelled here clearly and with conviction. For those of you, who did not read the blog and comments, here is Lenn's comment :
Show … (48 comments)
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real estate discussion: Keeping Your Mouth Shut Is Not Always A Virtue
- 06/20/09 06:52 AM
I noticed Heather Oberhau when she got into a heater exchage on one of my controversial (oh, well...) blogs. Not only it was flattering that she one of very few people who agreed with me, but she showed a very independent mind and strong conviction.
So, I ventured to read her blog, and it happened to be Ew! Dahling, you don't want to live THERE! I was reading it, and felt like a rush of cold air was creeping up my spine, and a sudden emptiness in the stomach. How on earth could I be so dangerously wrong all the time?
Comments … (7 comments)
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real estate discussion: How Is Your Real Estate Soup?
- 05/28/09 02:58 PM
Me and my wife were invitated to a friend's birthday party. He and his wife live in New York and they have a vacation home here in Florida, and come pretty often. His wife is a dentist, and he is running the office. They make their schedule so that they can jump in a car and be here in 17 hours. They now have more reasons to come as their only grandson is right here in Daytona. A very serious 7-month old boy is the love of their lives. He also was with their parents at the party.
They chose Inlet Harbour Restaurant in Ponce Inlet, the … (2 comments)
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real estate discussion: Does The Buyer Need To Know How We Operate?
- 04/15/09 06:32 PM
Amy McAllister in a post Some buyers just don't get it wrote about the frustration with the buyers who hop from one agent to another and even look at houses with several agents.
We all have these frustrations on a daily basis, and it is easy to get upset with the buyers. Why is it so difficult for them to do it the RIGHT WAY?
So what is the right way? We already know the answer from the agent's point of view. But we are not the ones who open the checkbooks. So what is their point of view? All we need … (33 comments)
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real estate discussion: Aren't We Paranoid With Privacy?
- 04/14/09 05:42 PM
Bob Foster posted a blog entry Do You Mind If I Take a Few Pictures Inside Your Home, Without Your Consent?
It is about the consent to pictures, even if these are the pictures of the interiors of the properties for sale. In the ensued discussion, the overall tone is that we gotta be careful as we do not know who walks through these homes and how they are going to use the pictures on the Internet.
An interesting part of the discussion is that whether the home inspectors are allowed to take pictures without the expressed permission of the Seller.
… (11 comments)
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real estate discussion: What to Blog About...And How
- 03/18/09 07:50 AM
Disclaimer: If I knew the right answer, my name would be Lenn Harley. But I don't, and my name is Jon Zoslky. However it was me, and not Lenn, who was asked "How does anyone know what exactly to blog about, that's what I'd like to know, and how do we keep from repeating the same information over and over?" in a comment to my blog How To Decipher AR Statistics about Missy Caulk's milestone achievement.
William Walton, Sr. asked me that question. What to write about is the question that nobody can answer. It something that you know, passionate about and feel that … (82 comments)
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real estate discussion: How To Decipher AR Statistics
- 03/17/09 05:08 PM
Regularly I see blogs, when members reach some milestone. 10,000 points, 100,000 points, or 400,000 points. We all know that AR points are not more than signs of persistence, achievement, abilities, experience on AR and, well, sort of worthiness. But points is only one item in Member's statistics. Let's look at the latest example and see how to read the stats.
Missy Caulk reached an important milestone. She surpassed 400,000 AR points.
400,000 points is a huge number, and she deserves every good word she is getting. I am glad to be one of those who is happy for her.
However, the points are not everything. … (28 comments)
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We know that real estate is local, and yet reading blogs on AR we run into statements, which are very general and often are very judgmental.
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