David Smith's (smittycan2) Blog

About two months ago, I came across a piece written in The Real Deal , a very well put together and insightful publication with a focus on the New York City real estate market.  The piece was on a heated debate regarding tentative plans a local MLS service has to make their listings available to ...

Having spent a significant amount of time in the health care industry providing direct services to patients/client, i can say first hand that enough people do not heed good, sound advice even when it is one's best interest to do so.  The consequence: sometimes minor, sometimes major, but usually ...

 My response to Yesterday's SituationTo Whom It May Concern:To date, I have made several phone calls to both, [Company Name didacted] and [Collector Name didacted] in an attempt to resolve the issue of an uncollected debt that does not belong to me.  Please make note of the following:I have never...

I was reminded of this experience by a fellow AR'er who blogged about never using Lending Tree..Don't ask me what lead me from there to here...too much work...too much thinking...free associating...bad experiences...bad relationships...what next?  Oh, the story...here it is: About a year ago, I r...

My wife brought to my attention this Easter Sunday, that Parade Magazine had a piece on Real Estate Agents.  The piece was entitled: The 5 Biggest Real Estate Myths.  Of course I was curious to read about the myths that I and 'my industry' were perpetuating.  Not necessarily in this order or word...

 A follow-up from: Office Communications Can Leave A Bitter TasteWhen relationships are strong, they can endure difficult 2-way communications. When they are not, the challenge is greater. The key to managing difficult office communications can be found in building strong, cohesive, constructive ...

Who doesn't want to work in a setting where pleasantries are regularly exchanged?  One where you look forward to seeing that person who sits next to you sharing stories of the battlefield?  What do you do when office interactions are not typically characterized by supportive engagements or rhythm...

“I am panicking.  I recently put down $45K to buy my home and am beginning to feel as though it might not prove to be the best investment decision I have made.  What will I do if home prices drop and my home is now worth less than when I brought it?  I‘m hearing everyone say Don‘t buy, don‘t buy,...

The other day I came onto active rain to view the latest in terms of blogs and rankings.  No major changes from one day to the next.  I continue to ‘blog’ as needed or when feeling compelled to do so.   As a result, the Active Rain web-masters reward me for my contributions via their point system...

How many of us out here have been told by someone that one of the things real estate agents have to be able to do is “listen better”.  Have any of you worked with a customer or client who ‘complained’ that they came to you as their previous agent was not a good listener?  They were interested in ...