peter den boer: October Challenge - Let's Get Personal!
- 10/31/18 06:56 AM
At the last moment, I have decided to enter Brian England’s October challenge of writing about myself.
So here goes.
I was born and raised in North Carolina, attending North Carolina State University, getting my degree in Textile Management and Materials. I got married the weekend after graduating to my wife of 37 years, Cathy. She is absolutely my rock.
We moved the very next week to NY where I went to work for Burlington Industries. Along the way I went back to school and received my MBA in the mid 90’s. I was transferred to Atlanta in the mid 80’s and worked in … (6 comments)
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peter den boer: A long week, and a short day
- 12/21/17 05:41 AM
As you have undoubtably heard by now, today is the shortest day of the year. It still has 24 hours in it, but it has the least amount of daylight of any other day of the year. For such a short day, why then is this week so long?
I think it seems long because we are all waiting for Christmas to be here. When something you want is off in the future, it just seems to take forever to get here. Conversely, as soon as that event gets here, it goes by in a flash. Is this some sort of Physics … (3 comments)
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peter den boer: Home Inspectors, some good, some not
- 12/01/17 06:33 AM
Just like in any other profession, there are good practitioners and some not so good. When choosing a home inspector, make sure you get one with some industry experience. Here in Georgia anyone can become an inspector. There are no licensing or testing requirements to become an inspector.
A recent inspection of a home I had listed turned up a supposedly malfunctioning ceiling fan. I was a bit perplexed because I had just had the fan on the week before and it worked just fine. When checked yesterday it was still working just fine. I guess the inspector was not well versed in fan … (2 comments)
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peter den boer: Home Inspection
- 11/28/17 05:49 AM
So you have a contract on your home. What's next you ask? There will probably now be a home inspection. The Buyer will hire a home inspection company to come in and give your home a thorough once over. They are looking for items that don't work, and should. Of most interest to them will be safety issues and large systems where repairs could be costly.
They will look over the AC units and note its condition. If the temperature is below a certain level they will be unable to actually test the air conditioning as it could freeze up. They should … (1 comments)
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peter den boer: Don't drag your feet...
- 11/27/17 05:04 AM
Everyone knows that the home markets have been very busy. We have been saying for a while that if you have to sleep on it, you will never sleep in it. I have a quick cautionary tale that speaks to this.
Before I left for the holiday, I had received an offer on my townhome I was selling. It was a full price offer, but the buyers wanted quite a bit of closing costs paid by the seller...me. So, I countered their offer with an expiration date 2 days out. Day one came and went. Wednesday at 3 was the deadline. I … (6 comments)
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peter den boer: Did you hear about the sink?
- 11/20/17 06:07 AM
I recently helped a couple who are friends of my daughter and son in law purchase a home. They wanted and older home in an older subdivision. I figured we might see a few items on the inspection list, and we did. We had 17 items that needed fixing in the home before we could close.
Upon inspection before closing we found items that had not been correctly fixed, or not fixed at all. My clients chose to go ahead with the closing as scheduled. When I communicated with them about a week later, they were happily cleaning the home and getting … (2 comments)
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peter den boer: The Holidays are Coming! Keep them safe.
- 11/17/17 04:45 AM
As I sit here and write this post this morning, I can hear a firetruck of in the distance, racing to help someone in need. That someone is probably starting the day off in a particularly bad fashion. I think the Holidays can produce many bad days if we are not careful.
For instance, it is rare that I don't see a bad car accident on the highway when I travel to see family. People are in a hurry to get somewhere, or are not used to driving long distances and they have a momentary lapse in judgment. It's all it takes … (5 comments)
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peter den boer: New Website up and running!
- 11/17/17 04:34 AM
den Boer Homes is pleased to announce their new website is up and running. There are still a few additions to be made, but on the site you will find information on how den Boer Homes can help solve real estate issues for both Buyers and Sellers.
Also available is a video library. Watch videos about various real estate questions and see actual full motion listing videos like those made for every den Boer Homes listing. The den Boer Homes Blog page is full of insightful messages about daily life in the Town Lake, Woodstock Ga. area. Come read about what is … (2 comments)
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peter den boer: Legal Extortion By HOA's
- 11/16/17 06:39 AM
For several years agents have been talking about HOA letters. These are produced by Home Owner Associations to show that a seller in the community is up to date on their Home Owner Dues. The current contracts call for the owner to pay these fees before closing. It was not always that way.
Several years ago this was a negotiated item. Listing agents would check the little box on page two of the contract stating the Buyer was to pay this fee. Selling agents who missed this little box were left to explain to their Buyer clients that they now needed to foot … (1 comments)
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peter den boer: Looking for a professional?
- 11/14/17 06:39 AM
Yesterday I wrote about the need for consulting a professional when dealing with things, like buying a home, that you have limited knowledge about. It occurs to me that just by suggesting a professional creates some confusion among the general public. What exactly is a professional?
When we look for a professional in anything, we look for experience, documentation of accreditation, awards for service, and other tangible indications of professionalism. In the real estate business agents must be licensed by the state to practice real estate.
Don't you love the word "Practice"? To me this sounds like the individual still has not gotten it … (1 comments)
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peter den boer: The New Computer
- 11/13/17 04:17 AM
After 6 years on the same computer, my wife decided to buy a new one. Not because she wanted to. It was because the old one was acting up. I don't believe most people relish the thought of buying a new computer. There is so much to do to them before they work like we want them to.
Many (Smart) folks take their new, still-in-the-box computers directly to a computer guru and tell them to make it work. These people have a lot of good sense. Others, like myself and my wife, tackle the job ourselves. Sometimes it even works.
So, we spent … (29 comments)
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peter den boer: Many, Many Hats
- 11/10/17 12:19 PM
I am a huge fan of hiring professionals for jobs. They know what they are doing. They can get things done much more quickly and efficiently than I can for sure. There are a few things, however, I like to try myself. One of these is working on my own website. So, I have been wearing an additional hat recently.
The reason for this is that while I could get someone else to build my website, I would not know how to maintain it. And if you are going to have a website, you need to tend to it regularly or it … (3 comments)
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peter den boer: Time is of the essence
- 10/31/17 06:06 AM
Here in Georgia, in our contracts for Real Estate, we have a clause that states time is of the essence. What exactly does this mean? We all know time is important, but why is it "of the essence"?
Your Dictionary on line says about all this, "When used in a contract, places the other party on notice that failure to complete a required performance by a date certain set forth therein will constitute an incurable breach." It means that any times listed in the contract or proposal are important and you should pay attention to them.
Time lines are important and Real Estate … (6 comments)
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peter den boer: Make it go away!
- 10/26/17 05:16 AM
I have been getting my rental property ready for sale over the past month so I have been really looking it over to see what needs to be done. The other day as I was walking through, I noticed several scrapes and scratches on the walls and molding. Ugh, I guess I will need to paint. Then a miracle happened.
My wife handed me something called a magic eraser. It is a foam pad about the size of a small pot scrubber. She said give it a try. OMG! This little guy erased almost every little smudge I found. It acts sort … (5 comments)
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peter den boer: It's not so far away
- 10/25/17 07:16 AM
Around these parts, from about mid March through June is our Spring market. Many homes come on the market and sell. The reason? School is out in May, so people are trying to sell and move once the kids are out of school and be in their new home before school starts August 1st.
Spring market really can get crazy. Homes can sell in hours instead of days or weeks. The thing I have noticed is that the better prepared the seller is, the faster the home will sell and for more money. How do they get "Prepared?" Glad you asked.
Sellers who … (2 comments)
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peter den boer: A Tale of Two Homes
- 10/23/17 06:38 AM
I went on two listing appointments last week, within 24 hours of each other. Both Sellers want to sell and move locally. I sold the home to the first seller and I spoke to the other seller 3 years ago about selling. Other than the interest in selling, there were very few similarities between the two.
Seller one bought really well about 6 years ago and has some equity in their home. In order to realize it though, they need to do a few things around the house. The complete inside of the home needs painting, there are some outside repairs that need … (14 comments)
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peter den boer: Little Red Boat Picture
- 10/19/17 05:48 AM
I love photo contests put on by ActiveRain! Folks here always have really cool pictures to share, so, here is my entry into the latest ActiveRain Photography contest in the category of Real Life / Travel Places.
During the last 10 days of September I traveled to Nova Scotia with my photographt club. There were 11 of us on the trip. We flew into Halifax, drove all the way around Nova Scotia, and flew back out of Halifax again. We really got to see much of the provence.
I think it was the second day of the trip we were riding along a … (14 comments)
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peter den boer: Pre-Closing Walk through(s)
- 10/18/17 03:18 AM
You are almost there! The home that you are about to purchase, the one with the white picket fence, is almost yours. You have negotiated a good and fair price and the seller has agreed to fix up a few things that your home inspector found. You are now ready to go to the closing table, right? Not quite yet.
I have heard stories of home buyers closing at the attorney's office and coming home to their new home only to find the buyer took several items that should have stayed put, or a water line started leaking after the fridge was … (6 comments)
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peter den boer: Its a process...
- 10/10/17 05:42 AM
Ihave decided to sell a rental property I have owned for about 3 years. The timing for the sale is right. My wife and I bought it for our daughter to live in while she was in school. The interesting part for me now is I am going through what I tell my selling clients to do.
So, we power washed the driveway and the back patio. What a filthy job! I did use my new attachment on the power washer and it really helped. It is a circular attachment that makes the washing go much quicker. Grass seed was sown in … (6 comments)
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peter den boer: Nickles & Dimes
- 10/09/17 06:04 AM
Some of the things that tend to get under my skin are negotiations that get down to the nickles and dimes. For instance, a Buyer and Seller arguing over a $50 rug, or a small $100 mirror, or who gets an ancient DVD player. Ugh.
I get that a dollar in your pocket is better than a dollar in someone elses pocket. We need to consider, however, how asking for that dollar might affect the deal as a whole. If the Seller gives in on the $50 rug, they may not have any interest in fixing a $100 problem uncovered in the … (1 comments)
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At the last moment, I have decided to enter Brian England’s October challenge of writing about myself.
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