Archive for 'Useless Ramblings' Category
Crazy Homeowner - Keep Kids in Private School & Mom at Home, Lose the House
11 August 2008If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!CNBC has a new show called “On the Money with Carmen Wong Ulrich” and I recently saw a segment that drove me nuts. Click here to see the video.
Here’s a summary:
They send one kid to private school ($14,000/yr currently), [...]
Happy 4th of July… Stay Tuned for News Next Week
2 July 2008The last 6-8 weeks have been busy and while the real estate market isn’t what it used to be, it is still keeping me plenty busy. In addition, I’m busy working with Jeff Allen to release a 2nd Quarter edition of our Twin Cities foreclosure/short sale report. Lender mediated sales will be with us for [...]
Loose Lending Broke Housing, Tight Lending Keeps it Broken
20 June 2008The several years of “loose lending” by mortgage lenders helped bring a surge of bad loan programs with borrowers that were either overextended from Day One or should have been unqualified to begin with. This surge has now become a tsunami of foreclosures and short sales, which Jeff Allen and I have lumped together as [...]
The Dangers of Unmoderated User-Contributed Content
14 June 2008So the reason I moderate blog comments prior to posting is because some people are not very polite and write things that are inappropriate. I’m not talking about dissension, I’m talking about things that just shouldn’t be said on a public forum. I have no problem with people who want to sound like [...]
Agents Disrespecting Vacant Houses
21 April 2008I have a listing that is vacant. The house is not a foreclosure and it is not a short sale. The house is clean, freshly painted, and has all utilities on. Apparently because it is vacant, agents/their buyers feel that they do not need to afford the same respect they would to an occupied home.
When I [...]
So Much to Say, No Time to Say It
16 April 2008I’ve got mountains of thoughts to share with you all but have simply not had the time to write about it. Blogging takes concentration & clarity of thought… two things I have had very little of lately with this busy market.
I’m working with some great buyers & sellers and having a great time but it [...]
Efficiency Furniture in a Box
15 March 2008Imagine taking a whole bedroom set with you in a box!
Star Tribune Prints the Wrong Story
15 March 2008I just read the most recent “the sky is falling” real estate article from the Star Tribune. The Star Tribune profiles a family (the Floyds) that are losing to foreclosure their house in North Minneapolis that they’ve lived in for 23 years. Today they owe 4X the amount they originally paid for the house! Instead of this being an article [...]
Beyond Brochures, Stamps, & Gas
5 February 2008Many agents try to explain the reasons why they deserve their commissions by mentioning that we’re self employed, which means we not only split our commission with our broker but also pay all our own supplies, gas, health insurance, marketing materials, etc. They then go through and explain how their knowledge and experience can save [...]
Bought a New dSLR Camera
31 December 2007I’m quite excited… I recently purchased a new Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera, a 10-20mm lens, a 28-70mm lens, a 70-300mm lens, and a high-powered flash. This was quite an expensive upgrade but so far I am very pleased with the results. I hope that this will further improve the quality of my photographs for my [...]