loft: 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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loft: 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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loft: 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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loft: 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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loft: 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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loft: 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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loft: 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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loft: 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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loft: 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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loft: 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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loft: 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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loft: Today in St Louis - April 25, 2007
- 04/25/07 03:20 PM
Just got a call from an agent telling me he is going to get together with his clients around 10:00 pm tonight to write an offer on my Alberta listing. I'm in classes all day tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday, so I will have to present it in the evening. Not too bad for being on the market for only a week....
I spent this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday showing condos and lofts in the Central West End and Downtown St Louis. I hadn't done very much in the condo market last year, so this was a treat to see what is out there right now. The lofts … (0 comments)
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loft: New Listing in St Louis - 4108 Wyoming Street
- 04/25/07 01:30 PM
4108 Wyoming Street, St Louis, MO 63116
ML# 729558
Listed at $149,900.
This is a great price for a four bedroom, 1.5 bath home in Tower Grove South - just four blocks south of the park.
Put this one on your list to see! Homes like this one don't come available often. 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 … (1 comments)
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loft: Today in St Louis - April 24, 2007
- 04/24/07 01:38 PM
We had our bi-weekly office meeting today. Usually, our meetings are followed by a presentation on various topics related to sales or real estate. Today, the topic was Negotiating for Realtors. I wanted to share some hightlights:
1. Keep your emotions out of it. Always be the steady and stable one for your clients.
2. Don't lose sight of the goal - the goal is a signed contract.
3. Use technology to your advantage. Negotiate via fax and phone. Don't negotiate through email.
4. Control what you say. There is no room for drama and emotion.
5. Keep your commission out of it.
6. Continually refer back to the … (0 comments)
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loft: New Listing in St Louis - 2 Family Flat For Sale - 3637 Alberta St
- 04/18/07 02:46 PM
Just entered in the MLS today! Attention investors!
3637 Alberta St. St. Louis, MO 63116
Two family flat in South City. ML# 727714.
Listed at $95,000.
Great price on this 2-family that needs some work. The expensive repairs have already been taken care of here - new roof and spot tuckpointing in fall 2006; replacement windows all the way around; glass block windows in basement; central heat and air on the first floor (central heat only on the second floor); breaker boxes for both floors. The first floor features five rooms, 1.5 baths, and a unique kitchen addition and butler's pantry/walk-thru (stove, fridge, dishwasher stay). A … (2 comments)
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loft: Today in St Louis - April 17, 2007
- 04/17/07 03:51 PM
Dennis and I went to a seminar on 1031 Tax Exchanges this evening. It was sponsored by the Des Peres Keller Williams office. The material was presented by Coleen Howell, a Vice President with LandAmerica-Commonwealth Title Company. As we are considering moving up from our two-families to larger investment properties in the future, I thought it would be a good idea to attend. The class was pretty general, for beginners, which was fine with me; I don't know that much about the exchanges. I also wanted to educate myself so I could better assist my investment property clients. Some notes I … (3 comments)
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loft: Today in St Louis - April 16, 2007
- 04/16/07 01:50 PM
I wanted to share an exerpt from a speech given by Nelson Mandela at his inaguration in 1994. It was originally attributed to Marianne Williamson. This is so profound, and it is another clipping I keep posted on the board above my desk:
Our Deeped Fear
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talente, fabulous?
Actually, who are you NOT to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There … (0 comments)
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loft: Today in St Louis - April 15, 2007
- 04/15/07 07:30 AM
Beautiful day today compared with the past two days. It was so dreary and rainy yesterday I did not want to leave the house... Today is partly sunny with temperatures in the fifties - still chilly compared with what it was, but at least it's not raining...
Following are the market statistics for single family residential homes in the city of St Louis for the past week. These stats are gathered from the local multiple listing service:
There were 176 Active listings on the market, priced between $9,900 (foreclosure) and $1,495,000 (wow!).
There were 40 Contingent listings, priced between $79,900 and $1,179,000 (wow!).
There were … (1 comments)
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loft: Today in St Louis - April 12, 2007
- 04/12/07 08:04 AM
I have a clipping of an article tacked to the bulletin board above my desk. I believe it's from the Missouri Realtor Magazine that came out right before the MAR Convention & Expo. It told about the feature presentation that would be presented by Mike Schlappi. Mr Schlappi, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a childhood accident, went on to become a two-time Gold Medalist, World Champion, author, businseeman, husband and father of five. He earned an MBA, authored two successful books - about success - was a member of the Board of Trustees for the 2002 Olympic Games, … (0 comments)
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loft: Kodak EasyShare V705 Camera - Interior Shots
- 04/11/07 11:26 AM
Yesterday, I shared some outside shots I took with my new Kodak EasyShare V705 Camera. Today, I wanted to share some interior shots I took to demonstrate how well I feel the camera performs on interior shoots. I used my own home as the example. Just so you know, I am not a decorator, so my home will not compare to all the fancy homes out there. It was clean, and organized, for a change... It should give you an idea of how the wide angle lense performs. With my old camera, I could only get sections of a room. With … (6 comments)
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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:
;)
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