HVCC: Who Is The Least Interested?

September 2, 2009 Comments
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HVCC handed almost every appraiser in America a pay cut and a boss. A boss that doesn’t make any sense and has his hand in their pocket. No wonder they aren’t very interested.

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Thoughts on the NAR IDX Enhancement Work Group

September 1, 2009 Comments
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Here’s a post that your average home buyer or seller could probably care less about (though really, you should. Things like this could ultimately affect the way you search for homes on-line or your agent markets your home for sale on-line).
The Back Story
To make a long story short, back in May the real estate interwebs [...]

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First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit: Time is Running Out!

August 29, 2009 Comments
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As it stands right now, if you want to take advantage of the (up to) $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers, you have about 6 weeks left to find a home, make an offer and have it accepted.
“But Jay, the credit is good through November 30, 2009. That’s 3 whole months!”, you may [...]

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Homeowners – Be Careful! Phoenix home seller victim of robbery / assault

August 28, 2009 Comments
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I just received this email notice from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service.
BE CAREFUL FOLKS!  There are criminals out there that will use every advantage they have. Never, ever, let a stranger into your home – no matter how bad you want it sold or how nice they seem…
The police are looking for suspects [...]

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Multiple Offers and Appraised Value: Be Aware

August 27, 2009 Comments
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When multiple offers exist on a property, be aware if you bid too high that the appraised value may not be there and you may have to bring in more money to close.

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Welcome to My Nightmare. Oh the joys of running a real estate brokerage.

August 26, 2009 Comments
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Today I received this letter from the Arizona Department of Real Estate:

I have obviously blocked out indentifying information.
Here’s what is really quite special about this letter. I am not the listing broker for the property mentioned in the letter. Hence it would be impossible for me to publish the lockbox code or “fail to [...]

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Thompson’s Realty Welcomes Carolyn Rhinehart!

August 24, 2009 Comments
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We’re excited to announce the latest addition to the Thompson’s Realty crew – Carolyn Rhinehart.
Carolyn brings over thirty years of residential real estate experience to the table.  I think she must have gotten her license when she was 12.
Carolyn comes to us from Keller Williams Realty East Valley and has accumulated the ABR (Accredited Buyer’s [...]

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Ask the Broker: Is it legal to place offers on multiple homes?

August 23, 2009 Comments
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Sean sent this question in a couple of days ago:
Question: There are a lot of bank owned homes up in Anthem – is it legal to place 2 separate offers on 2 different houses?
The short answer is yes, it’s perfectly legal (at least in Arizona) to place multiple offers on multiple properties. Your mileage [...]

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Why I Love Social Media – It’s about real people

August 22, 2009 Comments
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Lately I’ve been teaching some real estate continuing education courses on blogging and social media. It’s always interesting to me to talk to people whose experience in social media ranges from the complete novice to the grizzled veteran.
At the end of these courses, someone always asks, “What’s the point? I mean, what is the value [...]

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The Social Media Revolution

August 20, 2009 Comments
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I’ve been meaning to post this video for a couple of weeks now. About a half-bazillion people have already posted it, but in case you haven’t seen it yet it’s worth 4 minutes of your time.
I’m teaching real estate continuing education classes now in “social media” and invariably I get input like, “is this [...]

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What You Should Do. What Should You Do?

August 19, 2009 Comments
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“Ma’am, I think the answer is quite clear:  what you should do is _________________.”
I learned somewhere along the way in an Ethics class in college that anytime you use the word should it could be considered a normative statement. Normative statements are often used to describe what we as a society generally accept as social [...]

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