den boer homes: Good bye Poppy
- 08/04/14 11:02 PM
There has been a Parakeet in my home for about 5 years. My younger daughter got him then and he has lived in my family room ever since that day, generally causing a mess and chirping loudly when the ABC News came on at night. I think he did not like the negative news every night.
Poppy had a bad night last night and passed away. When I came downstairs this morning there was no welcoming chirps. When I went up to wash out my coffee cup a while ago, I caught myself starting to say something to the bird, but … (5 comments)
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den boer homes: Master Negotiator! Not.
- 07/09/14 12:40 AM
I have met many people in my career who believed they were master negotiators. More often than not, they weren't. In my mind, what a master negotiator is NOT is someone who carries a big stick and is not afraid to use it. I also know that in certain parts of this country there are different kinds of negotiations.
As a young, just out of school salesman in New York City, I learned quickly to give as much as you take. My boss sent me down the the garment district to work out a deal and I came back beaten to … (21 comments)
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den boer homes: Offer by Text?
- 07/02/14 12:11 AM
I learned to make offers in this business by fax. It was the only legal way to do it in Georgia at the time. We would rush to get offers, counter offers and binding agreements done before deadlines and wait for the fax confirmation to spit out.
We got to be real in real high cotton the day that the office started alerting us by email when the faxes came in to the office. Then we started using office faxes...Wow. Then, we decided that a written offer was good to start with but then we could negotiate by phone. This saved … (24 comments)
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den boer homes: Hi, my name is Pete and I am addicted to work.
- 06/11/14 12:09 AM
Yes. I am and probably always will be. I made peace with this fact years ago and have been trying to lessen the impact on my life and others around me. So, as part of my 412 step recovery program, I am heading off to the beach next week. A whole week of sea shore, sun, family, ...and my computer.
Ok, I am only on step 8 of my 412 step recovery program so give me a break. I have found that I actually have more fun when I am not totally out of contact with the world. I can quit … (30 comments)
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den boer homes: Due Diligence dates
- 06/09/14 06:36 AM
Here in the state of Georgia we have something called the due diligence time frame. This is the first 7-14 days after a contract is signed by all parties. This time is essentially a free look for the buyer. At any time during this due diligence time the buyer can back out of the contract and get their earnest money back.
After the due diligence time frame has passed this becomes a bit more difficult. Usually, but not always, a buyer also has an appraisal contingency and a financing contingency. If either of these fail during their time frames, the buyer may … (4 comments)
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den boer homes: Low price offer and contingencies? Nope, next please
- 06/06/14 12:38 AM
I received an offer for a listing I have yesterday that was a good 20% below our asking price. Our listing has been active for about 2 weeks and is receiving a good amount of showings. The home is also already priced well. The seller said, no thanks.
The offer also contained a contingency. It was contingent upon a legal settlement where the buyer was to receive the money she would use to buy the home. Of course, the buyer decided that this was too much of a risk to pull the house off the market, even if the price had … (6 comments)
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den boer homes: It's tough making this look easy!
- 06/03/14 08:28 AM
I spent half the day today working under lights trying not to look like an idiot. I think I managed that part, but I sure sounded like one! I worked in our in-house video studio trying to record short video clips that will be used by my buyer clients. It's hard for me to believe that I would have trouble talking about easy things like earnest money, inspections, appraisals and the like. I get that I am less fluent in orbital mechanics, but I do real estate every day!
As soon as we start recording my brain turns to mush. I … (7 comments)
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den boer homes: Shoddy work
- 06/02/14 05:57 AM
I did a walk through of a home this weekend that is scheduled to close this Thursday. The buyer and I were checking to make sure requested repairs had been made. I usually wait to do a walk through the night before closing, but since we had asked for more than one or two things, I thought we had better go in early. I thought that if there was a problem we would have a few days to correct it before closing day.
Boy, am I glad we went. As it turns out, a couple of things had been done and … (6 comments)
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den boer homes: 109 Dunlavin Drive, Acworth, Ga. 30102
- 05/29/14 11:50 PM
109 Dunlavin Drive is located in the swim tennis community of Lochshire. This 5 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home has been completely upgraded inside. From all tiled floor baths, to upgraded lighting, to a decadent California closet in the master, this home has it all!
The screened porch on the back is a pleasant surprise. This is the only home I have seen in the neighborhood with a screened back porch. If you are looking for a beautiful, move in ready home, close to everything, check out this home.
… (4 comments)
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den boer homes: What are rent restrictions?
- 05/28/14 01:59 AM
Looking to buy an investment property? Terrific! You go out and search and find just the right property located in a great neighborhood of condos or townhomes. You check the MLS sheet and it says there are no rent restrictions. What does this mean
Some communities have covenants that provide for a limited number of units that can be rented in any given moment. I have seen anywhere from 5-25%. Once these limits have been reached, no more homes may be used as rentals.
I ran into this recently as I was looking for a home for my daughter to live … (1 comments)
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den boer homes: Wow, what a difference.
- 05/24/14 10:33 PM
Yesterday I took my younger daughter around to look at apartments. Today we will see condos for sale. I was struck yesterday at how different the agents are at the various apartment complexes.
At one, the young lady was on a phone call at 11:30 on a Saturday morning and we could not even get into the leasing office until she was done. We watched several potential clients drive up, try the door, and then drive away. I hope the phone call was worth it. Once we got in the agent was flustered, did not know where anything was, and ended … (6 comments)
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den boer homes: Put that away!
- 05/17/14 01:13 AM
I have a new listing that went in to the local MLS about 2 days ago. We have had about 10 showings since then. The home is in a good area, priced well, so I expected to get a bunch of interest and have. This has not come easily though.
When I first saw the home, the old siding was a mess and the home needed a new roof. These got taken care of. Then on the inside, boxes of stuff everywhere, dog hair, no upgrades, it was a mess. Over the next 2 months, the owners worked diligently cleaning, patching, … (5 comments)
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den boer homes: Can't find a rental? Buy one instead.
- 05/12/14 11:18 PM
My younger daughter is looking for a 3 bedroom rental in Atlanta to rent while she is in Graduate school. The rental rates are sky high and very few are in good areas. We have struggled to find her a home for the next 2 years. As we were talking this past weekend I remembered something important, I am a Real Estate professional! I should go out and do what I council others to do, but a condo and rent it out to my daughter's 2 roommates. Duh. Sometimes I wonder about myself.
So, the search has begun. We have already … (24 comments)
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den boer homes: I Can't get there!
- 05/12/14 11:11 PM
I love it and hate it all at the same time. I have 3 closings set to take place this Thursday. That's the good news. The bad news is that I cannot possible attend them all due to geographic issues. The one I can't attend is actually the one I would really like to go to, but I have asked another agent to go to that one for me.
Closings are almost always fun. It is the culmination of everyone's hard work. It is the time both sides get together and enjoy the moment. Yes, we agents usually get paid at … (1 comments)
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den boer homes: The Appraisal Process
- 05/01/14 10:57 PM
Appraisers are people who come by, look at a home, and appraise the value for a bank or lending institution. They are an intricate part of the home buying process. Why? Well, the lender needs to know if the property being purchased will have enough value for the collateral on the loan. In other words, if things go bad for the buyer and the lender ends up with the home, they will need to be able to sell it and get back the money they loaned.
So what is the big deal you ask? Well, if the value is determined to … (3 comments)
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den boer homes: Ask one question and be a great conversationalist!
- 05/01/14 10:58 AM
I love to listen to people's life stories! Once you get them talking about themselves, they can go on forever! How do we get them talking? It usually just takes a question or two about themselves and off they go. The stories will just tumble out.
You can find out all sorts of things. It astounds me as to what you can find out about a person once they start talking. Perfect strangers will tell you things they won't tell family. You can learn their motivations for many things in life if you will just listen.
But why, you ask, do … (6 comments)
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den boer homes: Life moves on
- 04/30/14 01:25 AM
I am still amazed at how time itself seems to speed up as we get older. I remember waiting FOREVER to get my license to drive. College took forever to get through. Living in New York seems like two lifetimes ago. But the here and now? Blistering speed!
My older daughter turned 25 yesterday, is engaged, is under contract on her first home, and has a great job. Wasn't I just helping her blow her nose? My younger daughter is 23. She graduates from Georgia Tech this Saturday with an aerospace engineering degree. She has already been accepted for graduate school … (8 comments)
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den boer homes: I like being the second agent
- 04/28/14 10:03 PM
I listed a really nice home this weekend. It is just down the street from one I just sold. The owner called me from my sign and asked me to come by and talk to her about listing her home. So I did.
The home is really nice and should show great to prospective buyers. I spent some time talking to my new client and came back 2 days later to photograph and video the home. We were talking and my new client starts to tell me about the agent she had two years ago try to sell her home. He … (26 comments)
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den boer homes: Pictures or no pictures?
- 04/23/14 12:07 AM
Often, listing agents will tell a potential seller that they must take down all pictures as part of de-cluttering their home. I disagree. Even though we know that home becomes a commodity as soon as it is listed, it is still the home of the peopler living there. I tell my clients to keep their favorite photos around them as they are still living in their home. I do tell them to take down some if they have walls of pictures. I hate when the seller feels like they are losing the home they live in just to list it.
By … (37 comments)
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den boer homes: Open letter to Spring
- 04/16/14 12:03 AM
Dear Spring,
You might think it is funny, but I don't and most of the people I know are ticked at you as well. You came in a few weeks ago, gave us some warm weather, and made all the flowers and trees bloom. Now, I don't want to sound whiny, but the pollen the trees are producing is really a pain. Can you do something about that for next Spring?
I do appreciate the rain coming in to hold the pollen down a bit and the flowers appreciated it too. But, the wind and cold you brought yesterday were just … (7 comments)
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There has been a Parakeet in my home for about 5 years. My younger daughter got him then and he has lived in my family room ever since that day, generally causing a mess and chirping loudly when the ABC News came on at night. I think he did not like the negative news every night.
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