Category — Helpful Tips

I HATE TO SAY THIS, BUT on January 28 this year The Oracle spoke, predicting a new real estate market upturn and substantially increased sales beginning… yes, specifically on April 28, 2008. Did it happen? Yes, right on time. Bay Area sales are up 27%.

Boy, can I gloat, but then again… Cassandra is my middle name. I can predict the future accurately, but no one listens!

The Oracle Speaks again: Bay Area sales will go up month by month until in August the market will be HOT through November 2008.

BUT by April 2008 mortgage interest rates for fixed rate will be 8.5%-12%, and the market will plummet, again. And rates will stay high.

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PHOTOS OR THE LACK THEREOF ARE IMPORTANT home listing data as this post at 3 Oceans by Cindy Lin in this great post. Read the whole thing.

What I’ve noticed on Craigslist homes for sale listings is that many agents simply place an ad on Craigslist as an afterthought, and don’t take the time to import one or more photos.

Buyers use home photos to eliminate homes from their tour list. This was the point of Cindy’s post. The lack of photos puts the buyer and buyer’s agent in the position of needing to tour a home to eliminate it as a possible buy. Experienced agents understand.

I’ve noticed that experienced agents deliberately leave photos out of listing information. Where the home has some major defect, like front elevation, interior, or other major defect experienced agents leave photos out of listing information to pull in the best buyer’s brokers who know that they must see every listing that might fit their buyer clients needs, and so must tour the home without photos. I’ve toured hundreds of homes on behalf of buyers precisely because there were no photos. Diligent agents do tour these homes just to make sure the home does not meet their buyer’s criteria.

The lack of photos tells a buyer out shopping that either the listing agent is lazy, or more likely there is a major defect or defects with the home.

Sellers should also be aware that buyers and buyers agents particularly use photos negatively to eliminate home from their tour list. Photos should show the homes features, not just a beautiful photo so buyers will tour the home.

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BLOGGING AND REAL ESTATE are sedentary.  I became the blob blogger.  As a Blob, I huffed and puffed to tie my shoes.  It was horrible.  The day of realization came.  It was time to get the spare tire off; get healthy.  What better way than a construction project!  Yeah.  Up and down ladders all day long; pick and shovel work digging post holes, and scrapping paint hour after hour!  Whow.  So I volunteered to repair, scrap, sand, and paint a friends Craftsman rental in Willow Glen.

For two weeks I have not blogged.  Sorry, I was getting in shape the FAST way.  The first day I could hardly move after 4 hours.  After a week, 7 hours with only light pain… all over.   And today,  after 14 days of all types of construction and painting work, Whawallaha!  After 8 hours up and down ladders, I’m ready for a 5 mile jog.

Now I can do it all!  Construction in the morning, real estate in the afternoon, and blogging in the evening!

Its a new me!  And I have new posts about “how to” fix that weathered barge rafter, repair redwood lap siding; with step by step photos to make a Craftsman redwood home new again.

I have vowed to blog every night for the next two weeks.  Lots of exciting stuff coming!

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THERE IS BURIED GOLD IN YOUTUBE for real estate related business.  Hot Property Blog has a complete rundown on YouTube’s potential when coupled with Google’s Adsense and Adwords.  It is probable that Adsense and Adwords will replace traditional print advertizing.  This article is a must read.

IT IS TIME AGAIN for routine spring household maintenance.  First, change the batteries in the smoke detectors.  Dead smoke detector batteries are no good if you need them!  It is necessary to replace them every year.  And change the air conditioning and heating filters!  Check fan belts and blowers for both.  Don’t forget to change water filters.  Clean out the clothes dryer exaust line.  I also change batteries in emergency flashlights, and check emergency equipment like fire extinguishers, gas line shutoff wrench, and emergency supplies.  Spring has sprung!

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