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Hasta La Vista, Castro
2008-02-19 18:04:00
Fidel Castro has stepped down as Cuba’s leader early this morning. He is to be replaced by his brother Raul who has hinted at some reforms. I don’t think that this will be the end of socialism in Cuba, however it may be the beginning of the end. Perhaps Raul will be ...
More About: Vista

Conforming Limit Update
2008-02-19 17:38:00
It’s official. The conforming loan limit has been temporarily raised. While it won’t save the economy, it will definitely make it easier on those who are encountering difficulties when looking at their home finance options. Check out this article in the Seattle Times. Share This
More About: Financing , Investing , Mortgage , Update , Conforming

Conforming Limit Update
2008-02-19 17:38:00
It’s official.  The conforming loan limit has been temporarily raised.  While it won’t save the economy, it will definitely make it easier on those who are encountering difficulties when looking at their home finance options.  Check out this article in the Seattle Times. Share This
More About: Update , Conforming

Raising the Conforming Loan Amount Woo Hoo
2008-01-29 18:28:00
I feel as if there should be horns blaring from every mortgage office in America with the news of a bill that will raise the conforming loan amount from $417K to $625-$725K. Either number would add some much needed help. One of the main obstacles in doing a loan in California or New ...
More About: Financing , Loan , Investing , Mortgage , Conforming

Raising the Conforming Loan Amount Woo Hoo
2008-01-29 18:28:00
I feel as if there should be horns blaring from every mortgage office in America with the news of a bill that will raise the conforming loan amount from $417K to $625-$725K.  Either number would add some much needed help.  One of the main obstacles in doing a loan in California or New York or any area where the median home price is more than $150K is the conforming loan amount.  Most people don’t know what the conforming loan amount is, so if you are not already privy to it, here it is.  The conforming loan amount is the maximum total loan amount (includes fees, taxes, insurance,etc.) that either of the two government entities, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, will guarantee to buy on the secondary market.  What does that mean?  That means that under the current rules, if your bank does a loan for you for under $417K and they can’t sell it on the secondary market as a mortgage security, the government guarantees them that either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae will buy them....
More About: Loan , Conforming

Bye Bye Folsom Prison Blues
2008-01-22 18:23:00
Originally made famouse in the song by the late great Johnny Cash, “Foslosm Prison Blues ,” the city of Folsom has undergone some major changes. Although it retains some of it’s gold rush era rail stop old town charm, there are now brand new communty colleges, upscale subdivisions, and new resteraunts. Part ...

Bye Bye Folsom Prison Blues
2008-01-22 18:23:00
Originally made famouse in the song by the late great Johnny Cash, “Foslosm Prison Blues ,” the city of Folsom has undergone some major changes. Although it retains some of it’s gold rush era rail stop old town charm, there are now brand new communty colleges, upscale subdivisions, and new resteraunts. Part of my early childhood was spent in Folsom around the time I was entering first grade. I have since returned to the greater Sacramento area and compared with the memories of my youth, it would seem that Folsom has a new lease on life. Several business parks make it a great locale for those who want to drive down the street to work. It’s freeway proximity also makes it a very close bedroom community for those who want a quite suburban lifestyle away from the hustle and bustle of the city. However, Folsom is an atypical suburb because someone in the planning commission got the right idea. They must have decided to bring some of the classy fare of the ...

NAR TV Commercials: Attractor or Detterent?
2008-01-22 02:41:00
If you’re like me and not like my dad, you don’t hit the mute button every time a commercial comes on TV. I understand his desire to shut out the onslaught of advertising that can sometimes make you want to apply a gun directly to your forehead, apply directly to the forehead just like ...
More About: Blogging , Commercials

NAR TV Commercials: Attractor or Detterent?
2008-01-22 02:41:00
If you’re like me and not like my dad, you don’t hit the mute button every time a commercial comes on TV. I understand his desire to shut out the onslaught of advertising that can sometimes make you want to apply a gun directly to your forehead, apply directly to the forehead just like Head On headache cream. However, being interested in both artistic pursuits and business, I find that some marketers can make an advertisement that is cute, funny, or, on rare occasions, awe inspiring. For example, in the commercial for Cadillac’s new CTS (Motor Trend’s 2008 car of the year) the actress, Kate Walsh, begs the question, “When you turn your car on, does it return the favor?” My friends, I now know the standard by which I will measure my next car purchase, however modest. Advertisements obviously influence all of as and they are also a sign of the times. This brings us back to the new National Association of Realtors commercial. You can check o...
More About: Commercials

The start of something new and the ending of something old
2008-01-19 07:19:00
Hey Everyone I know it’s been a while since my last post. I have been going through some serious life changes, which have caused me to rethink my life and my career.  This blog was created as a test project to see if the world of blogging was for me. I have since went on to ...
More About: Real Estate , Start , Ending

A funny thing happened to me on the way to…
2008-01-19 01:40:00
an open house I held in Natomas last summer. I was running a bit behind, so while leaving in a hurry I threw the open house signs in the back of my car. Feeling relieved to hit my exit after a 40 minute drive, I was actually going to make it right on time. Happily singing to the radio, I u-turned to the perfect spot to mark my territory. Flinging the trunk open, there were my beautiful Rancho Murieta open house signs; brown, shiny and sleek with the horse decal strategically located near my name. The only problem was…I wasn’t in Rancho Murieta; the gated community where I live and do business most often. Standing dumb-founded on the edge of a street clearly not surrounded by golf course greens, I set my now “dorky” sign in the direction of my Natomas listing. What was I to do? Knowing full well I wasn’t wearing ruby slippers, by the time I drove home and back again, the showing would be over. You should have seen the odd looks and half-brained glance...
More About: Funny , Thing

Bank of America Banking on a Monopoly
2008-01-18 23:36:00
It’s been floating around news rooms all over the world that Bank of America bought Countrywide. This seems like a very smart move for B of A CEO Kenneth D. Lewis. He’s taking advantage of the markets downturn to buy out and absorb one of his company’s biggest competitors in the lending market. Having already invested some $2 billion in Countrywide in August, B of A purchased Countrywide for an additional $4 billion bringing the sticker price to $6 billion dollars including Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo’s estimated $36 million in walking money. While some critics say that it may not be a good idea for B of A to incur the risk inherent in Countrywide’s poorly qualified loans, I say nay. While it may seem like an odd decision right now, B of A is obviously playing for the long run; something Countrywide never payed attention to. This is indicative of two things I see happening as a result of the “mortgage mess,” that will lead us into an ...
More About: Banking , Bank of America , Monopoly

What do you think about Ben Bernanke possibly cutting rates?
2008-01-11 17:51:00
The first time home buyer market (especially) just might be getting some good news soon, however it’s bittersweet for most I’ve connected with.  It seems that even with the rate cut, most of my buyers cannot get a loan; so the rate cut seems futile to them. Just yesterday a young buyer called because her loan will not be able to go through because of some new ruling that just came down from the banks for 2008.  Her offer was presented and accepted in the last days of 2007, but now her former loan is no longer available.  She must come up with another 5% down in order to attain her first home.  Needless-to-say, my buyer is crushed! Even though I understand the conservative stance of most banks, I wish there were a more personalized calculator for granting a loan.  It now seems as though they are following one round rubric for everyone.  I guess you are out of luck right now if you’re a square peg! Share This
More About: Ben Bernanke , Rates , Bernanke , Cutting

A Realtor’s Letter to Santa
2007-12-18 18:21:00
Dear Santa Claus, I’m a Realtor in Northern California and these are just a few of the things I would like for Christmas. A navigation system that allows me to input my destination without veering into oncoming traffic. An I-Phone, not because they are good business phones, just because they look cool. Qualified buyers. Motivated sellers. A trip to Vegas. Pens that can’t disappear at open houses. New open house signs. An internet connection that works. Something for the kids. Another housing boom. Share This
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Economic Forecast
2007-12-18 17:59:00
I don’t pretend to be an expert on the economy, however I am someone who pays attention to the market and those who report on it. Until recently, no one, except for a few individuals such as Mad Money’s Jim Cramer, have been reporting what’s really going on with our economy because the stock market is still performing relatively well. Finally, the powers at be are able to see what my colleagues and I have been talking about for months. Case in point is this article about how inflation is really starting to affect our economy on foxnews.com. Hopefully the fed and the other economic leaders will start implementing strategies that focus on the over all economic situation rather than just the individual consumer. My own personal forecast: 2007’s final quarter will not be the same Christmas shopping fueled year end rally that it has been in the past, and that adjustments will have to start in 2008’s first quarter. Share This
More About: Economic , Forecast

My vacant property finds a new tenant!
2007-11-06 21:42:00
Hello Everyone I am happy to report that my house for sale has found a new tenant. This property has been on the market for about a month and a half so I was able to turn it around quicker then expected. I was able to make this happen with some creative thinking, which is highly ...
More About: Real Estate , Real Estate Investing , Property , Vacant , Tena

Nothing new to report
2007-10-08 06:21:00
Hey Everyone As far as the real estate world goes nothing interesting is really going on at the moment. My property at Murrelle St. has been placed in both the American Classifieds and The Ledger Enquirer, which are two of the more popular papers to place ads in. I also got my for sale sign up ...
More About: Real Estate , Real Estate Investing , Report

Murrelle Street is vacant once more
2007-10-01 06:49:00
Hey Everyone Yesterday was a pretty busy day with going to Atlanta for training, taking my wife to the fair and meeting with the tenants who were moving out of Murrelle St. I had to meet them to do a walk through and get the keys returned to me. I was actually pretty surprised at what I ...
More About: Real Estate , Real Estate Investing , Street , Vacant , Cant

The Real Life Real Estate Blog gets a guest blogger!
2007-09-23 08:30:00
Hey Everyone As some of my more loyal readers know I have business relationships with other real estate blogs out there. Well I got an interesting e-mail a few days ago from my friend Trevor who lives out in Portland. He asked if he could write a post for my blog or be a guest writer. ...
More About: Life , Blogger , Estate , Real Estate , Real Estate Investing

Lots of fun stuff going on
2007-09-16 06:31:00
Hey Everyone Things have been really interesting lately for me as far as this real estate game goes. It has been a strange month and for the first time ever none of my tenants paid on time. This is the first month ever that ever tenant was late with rent. Overall most of my tenants are pretty ...
More About: Real Estate , Real Estate Investing , Stuff , Going , Goin

Another month of rent
2007-09-05 05:17:00
Hey Everyone Sorry for the lack of updates, but I’m going through some changes in my life. So just bear with me over the next month as so as I get some stuff taken care of. I actually got a good call the other day from my tenants at Murrelle. They were supposed to be gone ...
More About: Real Estate , Real Estate Investing , Rent , Month , Mont

Review of ?The Landlord?s Kit? by Jeffrey Taylor
2007-08-14 06:33:00
The Landlord’s Kit: A Complete Set of Ready-To-Use Forms, Letters, and Notices to Increase Profits, Take Control, and Eliminate the Hassle For a while now I have wanted to write a review of “The Landlord’s Kit” by Jeffrey Taylor , which some of you may know as the infamous Mr. Landlord. While I believe in the quality of ...
More About: Real Estate , Review , Frey

Saying goodbye to another tenant
2007-08-08 08:25:00
Hey Everyone Things have been pretty crazy for me lately. So please excuse the lack of blog post over the next week or so. I’m basically checking in to report that my tenants at Murrelle Street have given me their 30 days notice. They have been great tenants since day one and have never missed a ...
More About: Real Estate , Real Estate Investing , Goodbye , Tena

Bird Dogging 101: Working with Investors
2007-07-28 07:34:00
Ever since I started this blog I have been receiving e-mails and calls from people within my town of Columbus, Georgia asking if I needed a Bird Dog to help me locate properties. For those of you who don’t know what a bird dog is, let me explain. A bird dog is a person who basically ...
More About: Real Estate Investing , Investors , Working , Workin

Review of ?The Top 9 Ways to Sell?
2007-07-25 07:35:00
Hello Everyone It has been a while since I posted a review of a quality real estate product. So I decided that a review was long overdue. I’m also about to do something I have never done on this blog before. I?m about to review my first E-Book on this site. The reason I haven?t reviewed ...
More About: Selling , Real Estate , Review , Sell

Jail bird tenant
2007-07-20 07:24:00
Hey Everyone Sorry for the lack of updates, but things have been pretty crazy lately. A few weeks ago I got an interesting phone call from one of my tenants. It was around the time of the month that rents are due and I thought she was calling to inform me that she sent the payment ...
More About: Real Estate , Real Estate Investing , Bird , Jail , Tena

A new roof just in time
2007-07-11 22:18:00
Hello Everyone As the title of this post suggest I had to place a new roof on one of my properties. I have gotten a few calls over the last month or two from the tenant letting me know the roof was leaking and running into the living room. So I sent my repair guy over ...
More About: Real Estate , Time , Roof , Just in time

The sandwich lease mistake
2007-06-27 22:47:00
Hello Everyone Everyone makes mistakes in their life and sometimes we have to live with the mistakes we make. While I hate making mistakes I also understand the importance of making them and learning from them. We live in a society where we are taught that messing up is wrong. We are actually punished in school when ...
More About: Real Estate , Lease , Ease , Sandwich , Mista

Flip This House takes on a life of it?s own
2007-06-23 20:00:00
Hello Everyone I?m sorry I haven?t updated this blog in about a week, but things have been pretty busy for me lately. One of these things has been the “Flip This House ” scam and the people involved. When I decided to first write about the incident I had no idea of where it would take me. ...
More About: Life , Ouse

Is Angela Wilford of ?Flip This House? guilty?
2007-06-07 04:51:00
Hello Everyone As many of you know I have been covering the developing story of Sam Leccima and “Flip This House “. As some of my loyal readers know I have been a fan of the show since its first season with Richard Davis and his team at Trademark Properties. I continued to follow the show even ...
More About: Angela , Guilt , Ouse