ActiveRain Community

The August 25th, 2026 Activerain  Zoom meeting was a roundtable where we shared our ideas for how to get involved in our community. The benefits of doing so include establishing relationships, making friends, meeting potential future clients, helping our community and giving our life meaning when in the process of retiring.   The August 25th, 2026 Activerain  Zoom meeting was a roundtable where we shared our ideas for how to get involved in our community. The benefits of doing so include establishing relationships, making friends, meeting potential future clients, helping our community and giving our life meaning when in the process of retiring. Accordingly, here are multiple ideas that were raised out this week’s call. I’ve included links where available to additional sources. Habitat ... 08/29/2026

The August 25th, 2026 Activerain  Zoom meeting was a roundtable where we shared our ideas for how to get involved in our community. The benefits of doing so include establishing relationships, making friends, meeting potential future clients, helping our community and giving our life meaning when in the process of retiring.Accordingly, here are multiple ideas that were raised out this week’s call. I’ve included links where available to additional sources.Habitat For Humanity - Habitat is a national organization that provides an opportunity to purchase a volunteer built home for those who cannot afford one at market prices. You need no specific skills prior to joining this organization; just a willingness to learn and the ability to volunteer time. While all Habitat groups work different... 08/26/2026

Preparation for hurricane season usually brings up shutters, generators, and flood insurance. Plumbing rarely makes the list, yet it belongs there too.Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, and September is historically the most active month, with the climatological peak falling around September 10, according to NOAA's tropical cyclone climatology. That timing does not mean a storm will strike Charleston this year. It simply makes late summer a sensible window to check a property's plumbing before severe weather enters the forecast.For Charleston real estate agents, property managers, and homeowners, that window is a good time to look at what's happening under sinks, behind water heaters, and at the sewer line.Why Plumbing Belongs on a Hurricane Preparation Chec... 08/26/2026

Beautiful finishes can sell a home, but good due diligence protects the buyer. This is a great reminder to look beyond the fresh paint and new countertops and ask what’s really behind those new walls. The Perfect Little Dollhouse: Beautiful Renovation or Buyer Beware? August 24, 2026 A house comes on the market looking absolutely perfect. The bathrooms are new. The windows, roof, and floors are new. Every room is freshly painted in fashionable shades of gray and white. It looks like a pristine little dollhouse, ready for someone to move in and enjoy. Then I research the property. Less than a year ago, it sold for perhaps $150,000 or $175,000. It is now being offered for $450,000. That does not automatically mean something is wrong. A knowledgeable renovator may have purchased a neglecte... 08/25/2026

Wayne and I talked about the referrals, friendships, meetups and professional relationships that developed here across the country. When you send a client to someone you've known through ActiveRain for years, there's a level of accountability that doesn't necessarily exist when a referral simply gets routed through a corporate relocation system.That's still one of the greatest strengths of this community.   ☕ Coffee Across The Miles: Wayne Martin, A Real Estate Career Measured in Relationships One of my favorite things about Coffee Across The Miles is that I never quite know where the conversation will go. Sometimes we talk business. Sometimes family. Sometimes the strange twists and turns that make up a career. And sometimes you get nearly five decades of real estate history packed int... 08/28/2026

☕ Coffee Across The Miles: Wayne Martin, A Real Estate Career Measured in RelationshipsOne of my favorite things about Coffee Across The Miles is that I never quite know where the conversation will go. Sometimes we talk business. Sometimes family. Sometimes the strange twists and turns that make up a career. And sometimes you get nearly five decades of real estate history packed into one cup of coffee. ☕That was my conversation this morning with longtime ActiveRain Rainmaker Wayne Martin. I must say, in many ways his career path reminded me of Roy Kelley's. (See my Coffee Talk with Roy on my July 19, 2026 post).From Loan Officer to a $121 Million SaleWayne's real estate career started in the early 1970s as a loan officer at a savings and loan. A broker eventually encouraged him to get i... 08/25/2026

Time to downsize? You may be wondering what you should be thinking about and what boxes to check. There are a number of reasons that motivate people to downsize – and each person’s reasons and triggers are different.Financial Needs May Mean Time to DownsizeIf you’ve owned your home for years, its property value has likely increased. Downsizing can help you use your equity for more important things like medical care, vacations or investments.  Rather than working for your home by cutting grass and cleaning gutters, you can sell your home, move to something more manageable – and put the equity in your home to work for you.While I am not an accountant or tax advisor, I still feel safe reminding you that the current tax laws give you a big protection from capital gains taxes on that cashed ... 08/25/2026

🤖🏡 REAL ESTATE AGENTS… WHAT IF AI BECOMES YOUR NEXT REFERRAL SOURCE?Imagine a homeowner asking ChatGPT:“Who is the best listing agent in my community?”And your name comes up.Not because you bought an ad.Not because you're buried on page three of Google.But because the internet has enough credible information, reviews, experience and community knowledge to support the answer.🔥 THAT is where real estate marketing is heading.AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity are increasingly helping consumers research businesses, professionals and local services.And here's the important part…You can't simply tell AI that you're the “#1 agent.”You have to prove it.Your website.Your reviews.Your listings.Your market knowledge.Your community involvement.Your transaction history.Your social medi... 08/25/2026

Bill Salvatore of Arizona Elite Properties featured a post toRe-Blog today on Active Rain. Good post by Dorrie today, andworthy of our daily Re-B. Gilbert AZ  GILBERT ARIZONA HOMES FOR SALE, Bill Salvatore, AZVHV / HelpingArizona Heroes, New-Construction Advantage, Realtor, sell my house, 2026Market, Chandler  #Sellmyhouse #whatsmyhomeworth #homevalues#2026market #ArizonaEliteProperties #ChandlerAZ#yourValleyProperty #GilbertRealtor #AZVHV Recently, I was reading through some of the testimonials I've received while updating my website, and I came across one from Ruthie and Ronnie Robinson. Their words took me back to the sale of their home on Cinnabar Trail. They had lived there for nearly 30 years. They had raised their family there. Their home wasn't simply a property they were puttin... 08/25/2026

Check out this video on homeowners who buy new vs used. It pokes fun at the situation. ==> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA31zZUMTCgWant to learn how to sell new homes? Check out the webinar today from Modular Home Source PROFESSIONAL: https://partners.modularhomesourcepro.com/realtor-webinar-v3-registration-5Realtors: Stop Waiting for Inventory. Learn How to Create It.For most Realtors, the business model is straightforward: find someone who wants to buy a home, then search the existing inventory until you find something that works.But what happens when the inventory isn't there?That is the opportunity I believe many real estate professionals are overlooking.Instead of only asking, "What homes are available?", Realtors should also be asking, "What homes could we create?"That is where... 08/25/2026

 If you’ve owned a personal watercraft (PWC) for any amount of time, chances are you’ve dealt with one of the most frustrating interruptions to a perfect lake day: weeds clogging the intake. Whether it’s long strands of milfoil, floating clumps of hydrilla, or the occasional plastic bag that sneaks into the water, your machine simply can’t perform when the intake grate is blocked. Acceleration drops, steering becomes sloppy, and sometimes the engine even shuts down to prevent damage. Fortunately, getting weeds unstuck is usually quick and straightforward if you know what to do. In this post, we’ll walk through the easiest method, why it works, what not to do, and a few tips to prevent future clogs. By the end, you’ll feel confident handling intake blockages so you can get back to carvin... 09/02/2026

Few summer activities bring as much excitement to the lake as water skiing and tubing. Whether you are carving across the wake on skis or bouncing along behind the boat on a tube, the experience is always tied to the performance of your boat and engine. One of the most common questions among new lake homeowners and boat buyers is: What’s the minimum size boat and engine needed to safely and effectively pull water skiers and tubers? The short answer is: it depends. The right setup varies based on the weight of the rider, the number of passengers, the type of tow sport, and the size of the lake. Let’s dive into the details. Why Boat and Engine Size Matters When you are towing, the boat is doing more than just moving across the water. It must pull a rider from a dead stop, push through res... 08/26/2026

If you're a real estate agent, I'm guessing you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.Your phone buzzes.You look down thinking it might be a new lead, a client, another agent, or someone responding to a property inquiry...Nope."Hi! Are you still looking for affordable health insurance?"🙄I don't know what list real estate agents ended up on, but I feel like we get absolutely bombarded with unsolicited health insurance and healthcare texts.For the longest time, I handled them the way we're all told to:STOPAnd sure enough, that number would stop texting me.Then a few minutes, hours, or days later...Another health insurance text from a completely different number.I'd type STOP again.Another number.STOP.Another number.It felt like playing Whac-A-Mole with health insurance spammers.So I Tried S... 08/24/2026

The Katy Perry Law, the Protecting Elder Realty for Retirement Years (PERRY) Act would give home-sellers aged 75+ up to 72 hours to change their minds about selling a personal residence. It is about to be introduced in several states.The “Cooling Off Rule”Have you ever known someone who wanted to cancel a contract to purchase a home because they have had a change of heart? I think sometimes people assume that the “cooling off rule” applies to real estate too just because they have the right to cancel a purchase of encyclopedias or a vacuum cleaner that they made in a weak moment at their home.Interestingly, the Federal Trade Commission rules specifically exclude real estate from that three day cooling off period.  Selling or buying a home is different than encyclopedias – and unless the... 08/24/2026

The Perfect Little Dollhouse: Beautiful Renovation or Buyer Beware?August 24, 2026A house comes on the market looking absolutely perfect. The bathrooms are new. The windows, roof, and floors are new. Every room is freshly painted in fashionable shades of gray and white. It looks like a pristine little dollhouse, ready for someone to move in and enjoy.Then I research the property.Less than a year ago, it sold for perhaps $150,000 or $175,000. It is now being offered for $450,000.That does not automatically mean something is wrong. A knowledgeable renovator may have purchased a neglected property, invested substantial money and transformed it into a wonderful home. A legitimate investor is entitled to make a profit. The important question is not how much profit is being made. The question... 08/24/2026

Good morning and hello there again from Tim from my home office in beautiful Cottage Grove, Minnesota.  Hope this email finds you well and had a fantastic weekend.  Wanted to share my Tim's Time Outs with you again. CREED FOR OPTIMISTS: *  Be so strong that NOTHING can disturb your peace of mind. *  Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. *  Make all your friends, clients, and family feel there is something GOOD in them *  Look at the sunny side and POSITIVE side of everything. *  Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best.  *  Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own success. *  Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. *  Give and greet everyone with a s... 08/24/2026

Each day is a gift.We don't have to fill every minute of it to make it meaningful.Sometimes, the accomplishment is simply being present enough to enjoy the life we’ve worked so hard to build.   “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”…. George Eliot Whatever your age, don’t rush through your days. Don’t pack your calendar so full that you fall into bed exhausted, only to wake up and do it all over again. There is a difference between being busy and being present. For much of my life, I was always racing ahead, crossing things off lists, proving myself, planning for tomorrow, and thinking about what came next. I thought accomplishment meant getting more done. Now, I’m learning something different. I’m learning to slow down enough to actually be here. To savor an ordinary Tu... 08/30/2026

Most Realtors think their inventory is whatever happens to be listed in the MLS.I think that is too narrow.When inventory is tight, the better question may be: why are you waiting for someone else to create the product you sell?One of the biggest opportunities I see for Realtors is learning how to participate earlier in the housing process. Modular construction can be part of that strategy.A buyer already owns land but does not know how to build on it. That is an opportunity.A vacant lot could be paired with a home plan and marketed as a land + home solution. That is an opportunity.A small developer or investor wants to build several homes but needs help finding the right building system, lender, contractor, and local resources. That is an opportunity too.None of this means modular is r... 08/23/2026

340 Berkeley DriveWaxahachie TXLearn More and Make Your Offer HEREHouse for Sale @ AuctionResidential Home AuctioneersReal Estate House AuctionTexas Real PropertyHome & LotEllis CountyBuilt 20203 Bed 2 Bath2,780 +/- SqFt1.033+/- AcresWaxahachie ISDSingle Family HomeSpecial terms and conditions,Buyer's Premium apply for all sales.Information About Brokerage ServicesTexas Real Estate Commission Consumer Protection NoticeTo Contact the Texas Department of Licensing and RegulationGeneral Terms and Conditions  08/22/2026

Artificial intelligence can imitate voices, create convincing messages, and make scams harder to recognize. Seniors and their families can stay informed by visiting the official website of Florida Senator Rick Scott, where the Newsroom includes updates about fraud, financial exploitation, and scams that use AI.On the website, use the search feature and enter terms such as AI scams, senior fraud, or protecting seniors. One useful article explains how scammers use AI to impersonate loved ones and describes efforts to protect older Americans. Read it here: Protecting Seniors from AI Scams.Simple Steps That Can Prevent a ScamPause before responding to an urgent call, text, or email.Call the family member or agency back using a trusted number.Never send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, pas... 08/22/2026