News item: Effective October 9, 2006, King County (Washington) will remove all Deed of Trust Documents from the County Recorder’s Web site. Possible identity theft is the main reason stated by the county. According to the Federal Trade Commission, 5,810 victims of identity theft were reported in
...
10/20/2006
Yesterday I closed on my first transaction outside the MLS. I represented the seller (absentee owner) and another licensed agent represented the buyer. The buyer had taken care of the condo while it was rented. One reason the closing was delayed was that the condo complex was self-managed by the
...
10/11/2006
In a recent blog, Jim Lee addressed the use of the “R” word as it relates to the WWW and domain names. It reminded me again that the Realtor® trademark is a flawed creation. Let me explain. Blow your nose with a… If the maker of your facial tissues is Kimberly-Clarke Corporation it will say on th
...
10/11/2006
(This is a condensed and edited version of an article I wrote a few years ago for the Northwest Entrepreneur Network’s online magazine.) 1. Don’t Create Obstacles! Unless you have very deep pockets and plenty of time, don’t create a complicated brand name. Make sure it’s easy to pronounce. (With
...
10/11/2006
What’s inside these ubiquitous Craftsman homes being built all over Seattle land? Cherry wood cabinets, maple flooring, berber carpets (a warning), travertine tile (calcium carbonate), six-panel doors, five-burner gas cooktop, jetted or soaker bathtub, slab granite (the darker the dearer) and,
...
10/10/2006
“In compliance with what?” you may ask. The answer to non-compliance is found in the browser wars which ended with the meteoric rise of Microsoft® Internet Explorer and the near demise of the original Mosaic Browser which had morphed into the Netscape® Communicator browser. The war was over brows
...
10/09/2006
In one of my earlier blogs I asked “What’s your most annoying mistake in home design?” There was one answer, a list from Kristal Kraft. I was wondering how many comments there would be from men but I guess it’s too early to tell. Nobody has taught me more about home design than my wife and my mot
...
10/08/2006
Whether you create your own website or have others do it for you, here’s a valuable tool for all. Its unimaginative name - Web Developer – belies the myriads of ways it can be used. Before getting into the most useful features I should say that it is designed as an extension for the Firefox® brow
...
10/08/2006
According to The Free Dictionary time is of the essence n. (is) a phrase often used in contracts, which, in effect says: the specified time and dates in this agreement are vital and thus, mandatory, and "we mean it." Therefore, any delay, reasonable or not, slight or not, will be grounds for canc
...
10/08/2006
The last “For Sale” sign that went up in my neighborhood was by a company that is located some 40 miles away and does most business in the next county. Another home is listed by a broker whose other listings, according to the MLS, are about within 100 miles in every direction. This mirrors my own
...
10/07/2006