First Blog Posts

There is no time like spring time in the Keys. The islands come alive with flora and fauna and the waters surrounding our islands are teeming with great fishing opportunities.  May is always an attractive month for anglers to come try their skills fighting the 'silver king' - - the tarpon. My move to Key West in August 1996 was mainly to go fishing. I moved here from southern Connecticut and my first trip to the Keys was in the early 90s. I had never seen clear water before and fell in love with the charm of the island and friendly people. My first job was at the Key West Citizen, the only daily newspaper in the Keys. I am a graphic artist by trade so I got a job, rented my place in Connecticut and moved down to Key West. I never looked back. There is plenty to be thankful for here in p... 05/01/2021

Hello Fellow Active Rainers! Today I, Victoria Manayan, am making my first Blog Post here as an assignment in my curriculum for licensing in Utah as a Real Estate Agent. While working through the Ethics material in the course I found that there are MANY ethics problems with Agents that have resulted in disciplinary action. These disciplinary actions taken against the Agents will absolutely affect their ability to do business and earn money. Isn't making money to be a self sufficient citizen and contribute to society, why they chose to be an Agent to begin with?  This leads me to a very important and self- searching question: Why after going through the trouble to take time to be educated in this profession, not to mention the expense, only to sabotage their own efforts by taking risky a... 04/29/2021

If you’ve inherited a home or are knee deep in navigating through probate, it can be difficult to grasp the tax implications on the sales proceeds you receive. Here’s some common questions we’re going to breakdown: Will the “home sale tax exclusion” apply to a inherited/probate property? What is “stepped-up” basis and how does it impact taxation on an inherited property? How do I calculate “capital gains” tax on the sale price of an Inherited property? How do I calculate “capital loss” on the sale price of an Inherited property? Do I need to pay FEDERAL estate taxes on a probate property? Do I need to pay STATE estate taxes on the probate property? When do I become responsible for Property Taxes on an inherited property? How soon until can I sell this inherited home? Tax laws can alrea... 04/26/2021

www.crystaltowe.com Squarespace is slowly but very surely becoming the website platform of choice for small businesses across all industries. In particular, real estate agents and brokerages are beginning to embrace the platform in numbers. Courtesy of Drift Why all the success? Let’s run down some Squarespace advantages: All-in-one platform for small business with website, blogging, email marketing, and SEO Managed SSL certificates for data security 24/7 support via email, phone, or chat Custom domain names Mobile-optimized for any device Highly-affordable website plans Lots of 3rd party business & marketing integrations Wide variety of pre-built and beautiful templates Social integration, as well as Google Maps “Popovers” and “Toaster” for lead collection Faster custom development fo... 04/22/2021

Life is a constant balancing act, and divorce is just another ball to juggle that you might not have seen coming. Staying focused on what is best for you and any children that may be involved. We're no benefit to our children if we are not in balance with ourselves. Divorce comes with huge decisions, and balancing those decisions with making, what we feel is the right choice for all involved. There is the home to contend with and any repairs it may need. We can help you understand what you should know before getting a divorce. Are we keeping the home or selling the home?  The economic consideration is big, and it may play a role with who can afford to keep the house.  Does one of you have to go back to work, or to go to work for the first time after raising a family? The separation of a... 04/14/2021

A few groups want to turn around homes for an addition. It could be a magnificent wellspring of additional money. Continue to peruse to discover some great suggestions which can permit you to discover fantastic properties and opposite them for acquire. In the event that you are buying a house to dwell in, you may get emotional about the space, yet there is no space for this in contributing. Survey on Kingsford Emerged As Normanton Park designer. Committing a foreordained measure of time to learn and making property investments. Therefore, you might want to slice various things to have the option to support your chances of bringing in a lot of cash. Stopping your bowling alliance, as an instance, possibly something that necessities to happen with the goal for you to be prosperous. Try no... 04/07/2021

The National Association of REALTORS recently released their 2021 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report which examines the similarities and differences in home sellers spanning several different generations. Understanding buyer and seller trends can help inform your investment strategy 04/06/2021

Alaska Forestland; Hunting, Timber, Investments! When looking to Buy, Sell or Invest in Forestland anywhere in Alaska, there is only one place to call. When you need an Expert in all facets of Timberland, Hunting Land, and Investment Properties; Call on the Forestland Experts at Woodland Management Service and Woodland Real Estate, Keller Williams Fox Cities and their Alaska real estate associates. The experts at Woodland Real Estate and Woodland Management Service have over 30 years of experience in working with hunting and timber land investments throughout North America. When you are ready to get serious about your forestland investments, call on the Forest Land Professionals. 04/04/2021

     You’ve made a new blog post for your real estate website, now what?You’ve carefully written and revised a fantastic real estate blog post for your website. You’ve handed it over to your web designer and they posted it on your website. Are you done? Like, “set it and forget it”?No way, Jose! No one in the world will see it, except your friends and family that you insisted look at it. Are they your homebuying prospects? Nah. You need to shout it out so the world can see it. But how?Here are some quick and easy things you can do to get the word out; Use a ping tool to send your new post out to the search engines. Post the article url on all your social media with a provocative comment to let people know it’s worth clicking on. Go on to Quora, write a question that your article answers... 04/01/2021

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen I have recently started taking my real estate classes and was instructed to do a blog on this page. I have read a few blogs from a few months ago to recent. I chose a topic from my class as money fraud as the title states and the reason I chose it was because I as a trainee to this amazing profession never really thought about or even heard about agents doing this to their clients. I done a few google researches and saw a lot of scams on this and how to avoid it but I wonder how legit those are as well. If anyone has information on them feel free to let me know because as a new soon to be agent I am curious to know what to be informed of and how to deal with those situations if any ever occur. Thank you your comment will be appericate and I hope to po... 03/31/2021

Cardinal Creek Properties is a real estate solutions company based out of Trenton.  We’re a family owned business and focus on helping homeowners like you find solutions for your problem whether you’re going through a foreclosure, can’t sell your property, or just need to sell their house for all kinds of reasons.  03/29/2021

It's been a busy week for us ActiveRain developers.  We have released a number of changes  that will hopefully make your experience better.Here's what we've released this week:- Minor formatting and text changes to the site layout and several pages- Bug fixes to the front-end codeHope everyone has a fantastic weekend! 03/19/2021

   Hello to all who are reading this! My name is Sam and I’m excited to be apart of this industry. I’m currently in school right now and am enjoying my time and learning a lot.    We were given an assignment to discuss one of the 21 ways to lose a license and I decided to talk about being dishonest. It’s so easy to do, or not to do. There’s some pretty big consequences which ever way you decide to go. Personally, I wouldn’t want to lose my license over being dishonest. It’s important, especially in this industry, to be honest because a lot of the time you’re dealing with peoples life’s savings. I think in a situation where you could want to lie about something that might put an extra buck or two in your pocket probably isn’t worth it in the end. If anyone ever found out you or someone e... 03/17/2021

There is a lot that can go wrong with home improvement projects. Remodeling or fixing up your home can make it a much nicer place to live and can raise your property value if you do it correctly. This is a bit of advice we have put together for you to keep in mind on your next home improvement weekend.Stay true to the property and the neighborhood when you take on major renovations. If you live on a street of suburb ranch-style homes, then putting in a colonial mansion is not going to get you the desired result you're after. It will be out of place and not something anyone else will be willing to pay for later.Decorating your walls on a tight budget can be quite simple and requires no painting. Consider buying a large quilt or an interesting piece of tapestry and affixing it to your wal... 03/13/2021

Each day is a new year for a marketer, you have to study the market each day and have to build a new strategy. In case you’re a social media marketer, you might be working on your strategic plan for success in this as well as in the coming years. Congratulations! You landed on the right page, we’ve got you a variety of resources so that you can settle your marketing plan for the rest of the year and obviously for the year. We have tried to cover most of the important aspects which will help you in growing your business. However, before you get started and know how to manage your social media strategy, it is important for you to look ahead and ensure that you’re using your precious time and efforts well. In this blog post, we will take you to the expected and current trends and how you c... 03/12/2021

As agents, Real estate professionals have a responsibility to act honestly and to put their clients first. This is clearly stated throughout an agents licensing training. The National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics set the standard for Realtor business practices. This means that any REALTOR you work with has voluntarily agreed to abide by the Code Of Ethics. These Ethics are one of the best safety measures for an agent and their clients. When you set out to buy or sell a house, there is a lot of money on the line. A consumer needs to know that they can trust their agent. Which is why Honesty is mentioned twice in both Article 1 and 12 in the Code of Ethics. Real Estate professionals are held to certain standards to keep their clients, customers, general public, and other agents ... 03/06/2021

              IRS collection letters arrive in envelopes conspicuously labeled with the IRS logo, as though to inform your mail carrier and neighbors that you have received an IRS collection letter.  Some of these letters contain ominous pronouncements such as: “NOTICE OF INTENT TO LEVY”. Pre-COVID, approximately 1 in 6 American taxpayers owed money to the U. S. Treasury.  This number is sure to grow as Americans file their first post-COVID tax returns and discover just how much of the assistance they received from the Federal Government they are required to return to the Federal Government in the form of income taxes on various assistance programs. Perhaps you have received one of these letters or realize such a letter is on the way.  Here are a few steps you should take that will lead... 03/01/2021

It's time to buy a house. You've dreamed about it. You've talked to family and friends. You're ready to settle down with homeownership. Whether you're single or married, buying a house is a major financial step forward. Here's an abbreviated guide to buying a home. Step-by-Step Guide to Buy a House & Decide Whether You're Ready to Buy a Home Remember: buying a home is a substantial financial commitment. If your finances aren't in order, you will need to wait. Buying a home you can’t afford will do more damage to your financial well-being, your relationships, your mental health, and more than you can imagine.Lenders will look at every aspect of your finances to decide if you qualify for a mortgage. Ask yourself the following questions: Income and employment: Do you have a steady income a... 02/27/2021

Are you on the verge of giving up on your career as a realtor? Have you tried several techniques but all to no avail? As a listing agent, searching for a homeowner looking to sell a house is one of the most challenging parts, and demands consistent work. The same can be said for winning listings. Most of the time, this may seem so demanding that it appears as though you are fighting an uphill battle. Worry less, as in this post, you will be exposed to some proven tips on how to win real estate listings from homeowners as a real estate agent!   1. Be Strategic Winning a listing from a homeowner is not a tea party. Irrespective of your market, getting a listing agreement comes with great effort and diligence. It is a monster challenge, especially newbies in the real estate industry. As a ... 02/22/2021

When dealing with clients, we would want to ensure they have copies of the documents that are part of their real estate purchase. Using electronic measures would allow one to always offer a blank and finished copy to the signers. If a client doesn't have electronic capabilities to sign, you have to think a step ahead. This means possibly making an extra copy in case they want both the before and after signature copies.  I remember the first time I had the opportunity to use an electric copy. This was a game changer for me! It allows my life to have less clutter but still have any reference I need! 02/18/2021