condo: Today in St Louis - June 4, 2007
- 06/04/07 03:15 PM
Our friend, Dr. Ben Bohren, visited over the weekend. He arrived Thursday and flew out this morning. Ben is a minister with the Christian Church of Northern California-Nevada. The CCNC-N is the presence of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the northern half of the states of California and Nevada. Ben is such a great guy, and we love to share our home with him when he is in town for meetings, etc. He used to live in St louis (I sold him his house and then listed and sold it when he moved to California with his job). During … (0 comments)
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condo: New Price on Tower Grove South Home
- 06/02/07 07:07 AM
New price on this adorable cottage in Tower Grove South, just 4 blocks south of the park. Seller lived here for many years and lovingly maintained this home. It is clean, clean, clean, and has so much to offer. The main floor consists of the livingroom, diningroom, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, full bath & a great finished 3-season/breakfast room off the kitchen. Large dormers on the second floor (front & back) really add to the upstairs living space. There are five good-sized closets (2 are cedar lined) & two large bedrooms. There's also a half bath off the landing. Tons of natural … (0 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - May 22, 2007
- 05/22/07 08:29 AM
Got back into town yesterday, and will probably leave town again on Thursday for the Memorial Day weekend. I am finding it very difficult to get motivated to do anything real estate related this week. Not much is going on, and I just can't seem to get focused for a couple of days to just leave town again...
My nephew's high school graduation Friday evening went great. I counted 163 in the graduating class. The ceremony lasted a little over an hour - three speakers and then handed out diplomas. There was an awards ceremony earlier in the week. Spent the night at … (2 comments)
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condo: Happy Birthday Mom Horman
- 05/17/07 06:22 AM
I just wanted to take a moment to wish Mom Horman a Happy 80th Birthday. I also wanted to pay tribute to this amazing woman. We are celebrating her birthday this Sunday, but her actual birthday is Tuesday, May 22. Her children and grandchildren have been planning the event for months. It's supposed to be a "surprise". If we pull it off, I'll be "surprised."
She has raised seven children, has fourteen living grandchildren, and twenty-one great-grandchildren. She is a two-time cancer surviver, who lives with a colostomy. This spring, after a heart scare, she received a pace-maker. She is doing … (0 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - May 17, 2007
- 05/17/07 05:41 AM
It's the season for graduations. We have five of them in the family - four from high school and one from nursing school. We are attending only one of the ceremonies, but everyone will get cards and cash. I need to get them in the mail....
I loved the saying in one of the cards. It applies to all of us, not just the graduates:
"Whatever you dream, dream with all your heart - Whatever you try, try with all your heart - and happiness will be yours."
It makes me feel old. I was there when Dustin, my nephew, was born. I changed his … (0 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - May 15, 2007
- 05/15/07 10:02 AM
Well, I got word today that I didn't get the listing on Alfred. The seller's reason was that my evaluation of the list price for their home was too low. I told them they needed to be around $130,000 or less. They are being relocated, and acted like they wanted a quick sale...
I thought the comparables supported this list price. The home is west of Morganford, which is not as desirable an area as homes east of Morganford (Tower Grove South). Two bedroom homes in our neighborhood - east of Morganford - have sold for $130,000 or less this past year. It … (0 comments)
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condo: Listing Appointments - A Question...
- 05/12/07 08:59 AM
Normally, I try to break up my listing appointments into two meetings. The first meeting is to just meet the potential clients and build repport, walk through the house, see for myself the condition and ammenities, and take notes. On the second appointment, I present my listing presentation, my marketing plan, and the comparative market analysis of the property. This week, I did it a little differently. I had gotten particulars from the seller over the phone, so I ran comps before the appointment. During the appointment, I met the sellers, walked the house, took notes, and took some pictures for … (19 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - May 11, 2007
- 05/11/07 02:07 PM
Thank goodness it's Friday. No reason, really, just glad it's the weekend... It rained again today, so no yard work was done. I got the landscaping planted at the first Miami property, but it began raining before I could get started on the property across the street. It poured yesterday afternoon. No winds, but lightning, thunder and buckets of rain. We've been sweeping water out the back door of the basement. I'll finish planting this next week and then begin the mulching. Thank goodness they have piles of free mulch for anyone to take at Carondelet Park. Between the rental properties … (2 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - May 10, 2007
- 05/10/07 03:43 AM
I facilitated a KWU class last week on "Buyer Mastery - Succeecing in a Buyer's Market." We covered some buyer "myths and truths" that exist in today's market:
Buyer Myth 1: "I can take my time because I have all these choices."
Truth: In any market, the best properties go quickly. Act on these properties, or you are left with the second tier homes. "If the home of your dreams came along today, are you prepared to buy it?"
Buyer Myth 2: "Prices or interest rates may go down."
Truth: No one can predict the market. "You are right, prices may go down, and there … (2 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - May 9, 2007
- 05/09/07 01:29 PM
I have a clipping on the board above my desk. I believe it's from an old Ann Landers column. I try to read it regularly, as it reminds me to be thankful for the many blessings I have received:
"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness... you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, … (1 comments)
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condo: A Cool Virtual Tour Site
- 05/09/07 04:51 AM
Last week I posted that I was checking out different virtual tour sites. I have tried out http://www.realestateshows/ and love it. Normally, the price to join was $125, but Jeff Turner, president of the company, responded and let me know that for members of Activerain the cost was only $99.95. Visit this link to sign up with the discount: http://create.realestateshows.com/newuser/index.php?agencyID=11
I've since created a virtual tour of one of my listings (4108 Wyoming St). It was so easy to do. I first watched the short tutorial videos, and within 15 minutes (I'm slow) I had set up the tour. See it here: http://www.realestateshows.com/161191
One … (0 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - May 8, 2007
- 05/08/07 06:05 AM
We have a clear occupancy inspection on the Wyoming listing! I met the inspector there this morning. After a ten minute walk-thu, he said everything looks fine and said the certificate would be in the mail. I knew this would be an easy one. I installed three smoke detectors and three GFCI outlets this last week. There was no pealing paint or falling plaster. Even though the house is dated, it is very clean, and that did make a difference. So, we've taken care of another step in the process. I have a good working relationship with this inspector. He inspected … (0 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - May 7, 2007
- 05/07/07 03:36 PM
Just got back from visiting some friends who live in Lake Saint Louis. It's beautiful out there, but quite a drive from the city. They have a large front yard that slopes fairly steeply down to the street. It is terraced somewhat, but pretty overgrown. They were wanting my opinion on how to landscape the area. I love planting and laying out landscaping. I work by trial and error, though, and move things around every year. Their yard is somewhat overwhelming. I suggested first getting rid of the overgrown plants/weeds, trimming what they want to keep, and mulch, mulch, mulch. If they don't plant anything else, just mulching the … (0 comments)
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condo: Virtual Media/Tours: Which is best?
- 05/05/07 10:47 AM
I've been considering changing from the virtual tour I have been using. They are a local company and do great photography. They also upload the tour to Realtor.com for me. They are busy, and try to be accomodating, but it's sometimes a hassle to get the shot scheduled. They are rather expensive, too. Since I've purchased my new digital camera, the Kodak V705, I feel I can now shoot really nice pictures myself, set up my own virtual tours, and maybe save a little money on each listing. A couple of the tours I have looked at are:
www.CirclePix.com This virtual … (21 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - May 5, 2007
- 05/05/07 09:48 AM
Here are the weekly market statisticss for the city of St. Louis. The information was gathered from the local multiple listing service:
There were 125 active listings. Prices ranged from $17,900 to $1,295,000.
There were 40 contingent/option listings. Prices ranged from $24,000 to $589,000.
There were 84 pending listings. Prices ranged from $13,000 to $570,000.
There were 89 sold properties. Prices ranged from $30,000 to $570,000.
There were 127 properties that expired. Prices ranged from $16,900 to $624,000.
There were 31 withdrawn listings. Prices ranged from $85,000 to $389,900.
I am hosting a public open house tomorrow (Sunday) at 4108 Wyoming Street, from 1 to 3 pm. This is … (1 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - May 3, 2007
- 05/03/07 02:03 PM
Just came back from doing some work on the Wyoming listing. The occupancy inspection is on Tuesday, and I wanted to be ready for him. I installed three smoke detectors and three gfci outlets. The seller is elderly and wouldn't be able to do it. It didn't take that long to do, and she appreciated it. I know some will say that is not the listing agent's job, and I agree. I usually don't do that for sellers; but sometimes I feel that little extra can make a big impression on our clients.
I attended a class this afternoon at the Keller … (0 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - May 2, 2007
- 05/02/07 02:08 PM
Yesterday I facilitated a class at our Keller Williams Southwest office. This was one class out of a seventeen session series called: "Priciples of Lead Generation and Prospecting to Grow Your Business". These classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 - 1:30 pm. My class was on "Chapter 5: Prospecting Events". The class covered how to prospect open houses, how to use client parties to generate repeat and referral business, how to prospect by hosting seminars, how to prospect social functions and community events, and how to prospect our inner circles with personal meetings. What is so great … (0 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - May 1, 2007
- 05/01/07 01:47 PM
I wanted to share some more from the seminar I attended last week. It was a seminar on the Foreclosure market, sponsored by the Wealth Intelligence Academy. The classes were Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I thought the seminar was informative, even though we knew it was a teaser seminar to get you to enroll in the main training. At the end of the day on Friday, the presenter gave the prices for the different advanced training packages..... Well, needless to say, we didn't sign up. There were eight different packages ranging from $8990 through $63,990. The second cheapest package (the one we … (0 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - April 30, 2007
- 04/30/07 05:02 AM
It's been a long weekend. Friday evening, my lower back began to hurt. By late in the evening, I could hardly move. Saturday, I was bed-ridden for most of the day. When I was able to pull myself out of bed, walking was horrible, and I had to crawl up and down the steps. I alternated from submerging myelf in the bathtub to ice packs on my back. Yesterday was somewhat better; I could at least walk slowly. Any jolt was unbearable, though. I did ride along down to Bayer's Greenhouses with Kim, Gary and Dennis. I just couldn't stay inside … (0 comments)
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condo: Today in St Louis - April 26, 2007
- 04/26/07 01:52 PM
It's chilly again. We had rainshowers today, and a cold front came through. The attic fan will not run tonight....
We are in a three-day seminar, today being the first day. We also go tomorrow and all day Saturday. This seminar is just the teaser; they want you to take the specialized classes later. Regardless, I'm getting a lot of information. Some of the points I wanted to share:
The acronym - GREAT
G-get
R-really
E-excited
A-about
T-today
-The number one rule in creating wealth is financial independence.
-There are three type of income:
1. Earned Income - you have to work to get money - job
2. Passive … (2 comments)
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Our friend, Dr. Ben Bohren, visited over the weekend. He arrived Thursday and flew out this morning. Ben is a minister with the Christian Church of Northern California-Nevada. The CCNC-N is the presence of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the northern half of the states of California and Nevada. Ben is such a great guy, and we love to share our home with him when he is in town for meetings, etc. He used to live in St louis (I sold him his house and then listed and sold it when he moved to California with his job). During … (0 comments)
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