Have you ever noticed that many older people, especially those past the age of 50, rarely smile in photographs? Even many celebrities don't smile when their picture is taken. I suspect it's because when we age, our teeth change. Some get longer in the tooth, some teeth twist. I never knew what it
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03/31/2009
A bit of controversy exists over whether Groucho Marx was the first to say, "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member," but laughter aside, the point carries weight -- especially if it's a polite way to say: "Sorry, I'm too busy." I received a letter from the Land Park C
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03/30/2009
Often, I hand out printed copies of my home buying process article to first-time home buyers in Sacramento when we first meet. It walks buyers through 18 steps, from hiring a buyer's agent to closing. I suspect they read through step 17, and then jump back to step 3: looking at homes for sale. Be
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03/29/2009
Another warm spring day yesterday -- when I think back to the weather in March in Minnesota, it makes me appreciate living in the Sacramento neighborhood of Land Park 10 times over. Do you know that in Minnesota, March is generally the snowiest month? Seems to me that January gets more snow, but
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03/28/2009
Either some listing agents are unaware of their fiduciary responsibility to their sellers or they don't read the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, because many agents are violating both. It is absolutely a misnomer that a Sacramento short sale agent can refuse to send a buyer's offer to the seller(s). I k
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03/27/2009
If you're just sitting down to eat -- and who doesn't eat in front of their computer nowadays? -- you might not want to read this right now. But do come back after you're finished because this is an interesting story about a Sacramento bank-owned home and the horrors lurking in our residential re
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03/26/2009
When I briefly explain my Buyer 50-Point Presentation during an initial counseling session with buyers, I touch on what happens after escrow closes. What happens is I never go away. I don't disappear after closing. If buyers have a question months or years down the road, even if it's "My cat got
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03/25/2009
The reporter made it sound like this would be a special edition to the news. I was expecting a 5- to 7-minute in-depth study of the real estate market in Sacramento. Especially since filming took a solid 45 minutes. Not surprisingly, it turned out to be a 1:51 minute video. But at least he backed
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03/24/2009
Inventory (the number of homes for sale) is very low right now in the Sacramento home market. Trendgraphix reports show 5,251 homes on the market in February of 2009. In October of 2007, we had 10,320 homes for sale. By comparison, in October of 2005, we had more inventory -- 6,860 homes for sale
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03/23/2009
Sometimes Sacramento buyers ask me how much I make on a transaction. I don't know why because the number is in the buyer broker agreement. But I tell them anyway, explaining how the commission is typically divided between the listing brokerage and selling brokerage. Then that percentage is paid o
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03/22/2009
