So just how open are any of you to networking and marketing yourselves/brands to RE professionals ASIDE from other agents/Realtors?? You mean you don't have a separate set of business cards to hand out to a title agent, or occasionally take lunch to a small mortgage office? What are you in this business for?!!? It takes a village to put a family in a home! (LOL) Often, I hear and read from agents and Realtors how important it is to network and get your name out there, etc...Well who better to network with than others who are instrumental in the home buying/selling process as well as yourselves? The same process we come up with to get tactics to sell homes and get listings are some of the same things we can gather to attract others in the RE community, getting on a first name basis with ... 08/14/2008

As you cross the Taft Bridge heading north on Connecticut Avenue, you’ll see a mural of Marilyn Monroe.  This is your welcome to Woodley Park, one of Washington, DC’s most popular neighborhoods. Builder and real estate developer, Harry Wardman (1872-1938), left a large footprint in the neighborhood with his Wardman Towers.  He also designed many of the brick townhouses that are famous for beautiful oak floors with mahogany inlays and for their dysfunctional galley kitchens.While most of the houses have had their kitchens redone over the decades, you can live in Woodley Park and never cook or wash a dish.  Between the Metro stop and your home, you’ll find restaurants serving up cuisines from around the globe, and most offer takeout or home delivery.For runners and cyclists, there is an e... 08/09/2008

Now as agents, I know a lot of you are not in the business of staging yourselves. Some of you are probably on sales teams that may have a couple of people who do staging. But have any of you considered going that little extra mile for some of your sellers and staging their patio? It's not as extensive as staging an entire home, in which an expert would be an order. If it's not something you haven't considered before, maybe this free e-book will give you some ideas for your next open house. The idea is that even if the showing/open house doesn't result in a sale that soon, the sellers will be so impressed with your willingness to give them something extra, they will have no problem recommending you to someone...good luck!   To get the free e-book just google: Staging fabulous patios Davi... 08/07/2008

OK, all you stagers out there!  Today, I learned beyond a doubt how important your role is in getting a home ready for the market. I started off my first day back at work on a high.  And not from having just gotten off an airplane.  I was going to show a fabulous house to some favorite clients, and I really thought it would make their hearts skip beats. Last year, I showed this Wardman bayfront townhouse in Woodley Park to some friends who were coming back to town.  The place had been beautifully restored by owners who obviously had great respect for Harry Wardman's original work.  Last year's buyers loved it, but their timing was a little off.  This had been our first outing, and their home in California wasn't even on the market yet.  By the time they were ready to buy, someone else h... 08/06/2008

  Ever since I began say...back to taking my classes last summer, I became the queen of getting free stuff! Most of it, in the form of e-books! I will be more than happy to share these with you, of course upon the understanding that I will only be passing along things that are authorized to be shared, reproduced and passed along as per the original authors and distributors. I am a "googling" champion, anything I want, I find several ways to phrase it and wind up with a wealth of information, some of what I am looking for, and some good stuff I tripped upon! Magic phrases like: "free stuff for realtors" or "free stuff for real estate agents" usually bring a lot of great stuff. You pretty much learn your way around by being creative with various words and phrases.  The FREE e-book realm f... 08/06/2008

One of my biggest challenges is the inevitable website. I have tons of ideas and have seen LOTS of various offers from companies who give free hosting, a free template, etc. Make no mistake, it's always tempting to take advantage of something free, so naturally my curiosity gets the best of me and I give it a look. W/O naming names, the offer for the free hosting turned out to be true...HOWEVER, it was a wash when it came to the "extras" they offered...at a cost. Then there are the few free templates that are given, but, they are limiting in that you can only upload but so much non-text content to the pages and you don't get many pages as per the proposed content you will want to have on. Does anyone use anything other than their company supplied websites? What benefits do you have with... 08/06/2008

Current Number of Homes Active and Under Contract in the Washington DC area: Here is the breakdown as of August 4th, 2008 This week inventory levels have dropped; mostly due to seasonal drops.  Many Listings have expired and many sellers take their homes off the market during what is often 'said' to be the "slowest" time of the year.  Washington DC, Montgomery County and Arlington County; continue to have inventory levels close to last year.  However in Prince Georges County; the number of properties are SIGNIFICANTLY higher - in fact at the highest levels in years. Here are the number of homes on the market including the number of homes that were taken Off (EXPIRED) the market last week.  example: Single Family Homes in DC; 61 LESS on market from last week, but 68 "expired" - in realit... 08/05/2008

Sooooo....can any office managers tell me what they look for in a new agent? I mean when a newbie comes to you for an interview, do you read their faces? Do you look for someone who asks more questions of you than you do of them? What has been your turnaround for those that you chose to take on? What were their reasons for leaving if they're still no longer with you?   I have TONS of questions as you can see. I look at my search for an office as though I am in the market for a new family. The place where I hang my license is where I am going to call home, even if I am not there very much. I'd like to know I can go to the "mother" or the "father" of the office and get the guidance needed so that at least SOME of the so -called inevitable "rookie mistakes" can be avoided.  Money and indep... 08/04/2008

Who said the market is dead?  In the Popular Dupont Circle neighborhood; a properly-priced condo can get multiple offers. Dupont Circle is a fantastic location for many.  With close proximity to Metro, Restaurants, shopping and the simple fact that for those folks working in many Government Offices or downtown DC businesses; it is a fantastically short commute.  (and with $4 a gallon gas - WOW). There may not be multiple offers in the burbs - where homes are a plenty... in the heart of DC... they are not building more land!  Plus the prices of the Super-New constructed condos are at Top Dollar - even in this market. With only 10 days on the market; I for the 1st time in quite a while - have multiple offers on a listing.  With two offers in hand and perhaps one or two coming Monday morni... 08/03/2008

I met the owner of Diana's Books today.. Think of how one recycles a book. Mostly, into the trash; if not, partial paper recycling. Diana' Books takes it to a whole order of magnitiude up. Donations cheerfully accepted, Thursday 6-9 pm in Fairfax. They are doing some great work, go see them. If you are looking to recycle anything else, here are a few ideas to get you thinking, the Alexandria/Arlington Reuse Directory. 07/31/2008

We all know that trees, shrubs and ornamental plants can beautify a house and certainly increase its curb appeal. Usually, that is. There are some, however, that don’t help, like when they’ve grown to completely obscure an attractive façade, or when their roots have started to invade the foundation of the home like a malicious tumor, bringing in moisture and threatening the substance of the whole structure. The "tree" in the chimney here, right at the front of a house I just showed, is probably not a serious threat.  But it's on a beautiful old house on a beautiful block in a great neighborhood.  It’s an expensive house as well, with gracious proportions and a top dollar asking price. When we looked at old pictures from a previous sale of the same property a couple of years ago, my buye... 07/31/2008

As a potential seller or buyer, you are probably wondering "Why did she bother stepping into this line of work with the kind of market we are experiencing now?" It wouldn't be the first time within the past year that question has been asked of me by friends, family, co-workers and people I have met and talked to casually. The main reason I became interested in Real Estate, was the many opportunities that I would be presented to help people, not simply just to list and sell homes. As an experienced salesperson, working retail was no longer challenging or fun, and I didn't want to start looking at customers only as transactions benefiting my pocket. Once that concern began to loom in my head on a regular basis, I knew it was time to move on and gain insight to how I could work a sales-bas... 07/29/2008

I'm not usually one for posting about other businesses, but I've decided to share a little information with the folks on the Rain. I'm a dog lover.  A big dog lover!  I mean, I have a Yorkshire Terrier who is 13 years old, and two Papillon sisters who just turned 3 years old a few months ago.  I really do love having them around ... they are constant. But that's a different post! I found this wonderful Veterinary Cinic in DC that is just wonderful.  It is call City Paws on 14th St NW at T Street.  The ladies who are the Vets at the clinic are wonderful.  They are loving towards the animals; they speak to the pets with love; they adorn their individual exam rooms with pictures of themselves with their own pets (and even their spouses); and they make it such a wonderful and gentle environ... 07/29/2008

With the focus on gas consumption, consider this tool. This route planner can suggest the most efficient way to travel to multiple locations. The salesmen in my 5th grade math class would have loved this. 07/28/2008

Dear Vered and Allan and girls, as promised, I'm keeping an eye on the renovation/construction of your home while you're overseas for the summer.   You've had enough time to witness the "demolition" and even more time to study what was left while waiting for permits from the DC bureaucracy, so let's see how it's all going to come back together in the next few months! ActiveRain (thank you, guys!) rewarded us for our participation in the inspiring Makeover2Takeover contest with this amazing little flip video camera.  I have been playing with it for a few weeks now.  So much cooler than the little mini videos from my phone or photo camera!  Now the trick is to figure out the editing, and while i've been trying hard to master that as well, you'll see it's, ehm, in the early stages... Hope ... 07/26/2008

Situation: a buyer (aka "the client") asks her Buyer's Agent to write an offer for less than asking price. The buyer is a friend on the West Coast who put this question to me. Response: Buyer's Agent delivers 3 comparison sales: 24, 12 & 4 months prior. Agent also argues that asking price has dropped $60k and is therefore valid since that's the asking price. Analysis:The Comps: A buyer who made an offer prior to Jan 2008 was making an offer before the sub-prime fiasco and before the turbulence in the energy markets. Usually, comps that are more than 6 months old are suspect, that this is very true at the moment. The Buyers Agent needs to remember why a Buyers Agent does comps. With my client base here in the metro DC area, many with more graduate degrees than I, they get as much data as... 07/25/2008

The Dupont Circle Farmers Market is the local Mecca for Washingtonians who take their foods seriously.  The market is open Sunday mornings and is set up on 20th Street between P and Q Streets   The produce is organic and is locally grown.  It’s fresh.  And it tastes different The peaches are sweet and juicy.  You can eat the tomatoes without worrying about getting botulism.  And for the first time ever, I met some fresh currants!  They’re orange.      There are exotic mushrooms and cute little carrots.    There are few farmers selling meat from animals who actually grew up in a real honest-to-gosh barnyard and pastures where they munched organic grass.  They lead happy, healthy lives with no nasty hormones or chemicals. If you want to grow an herb garden, you can get some beautiful spec... 07/23/2008

What is some of the most important things you need to consider when choosing a hardwood floor for your home or business? There are many factors: Consider which floor level your new floor is going to be installed There are several things that you need to consider when you're looking into purchasing wooden flooring. For instance, you will need to make sure that you choose the right type, style, finish, species and grade for your room. Are you confused already? Sorry! There are just a lot of things to keep in mind while you're looking at wooden flooring. As far as type of wood, if you are looking for a floor that is going to be very hardy and will last a long time, you should look at acrylic impregnated floors. These are floors with acrylics injected directly into the floor itself. The res... 07/14/2008

Well, the District of Columbia missed out by a hair on being in the Top Five this year in Forbes Magazine's ranking of the best cities for young professionals. That was slightly surprising considering Bizjournals.com named the Washington D.C. area as the third best place in the nation for job opportunities for young adults.  I reported on that story about two months ago in my blog post Young, Urban, Hip & Prosperous: The D.C. Metro Area. Forbes reports that D.C. fell one position on this year's list landing at Number 6.  Additionally the Forbes article states that D.C. rated 15th for its concentration of Forbes-measured companies and in the top quartile for both salaries and never-married young residents. The top 5 cities in the Forbes List are: 1.  San Francisco 2.  Boston 3.  Houston ... 07/11/2008

Now that I’ve learned that some of Whole Food’s organic veggies actually come from China, buying my produce at local farmer’s markets seems like a pretty good idea.  So I started off checking out Georgetown’s Rose Park Market, which is open every Wednesday between 4 and 7.   The idea was to pick up some, oh I dunno, healthy stuff.  Zuchinni, cucumbers, cherries, raspberries, peaches, maybe some herbs to plant in my “garden” once I pull out all the weeds. But wait!  What is this?  Who is this!  I am drawn to this table where I meet KarenKay Roberts.  And Oh!  My!  God!  These were cakes.  Not ordinary cakes.  They were totally amazing.Karen was disappointed in this day’s Country Coconut Pecan Pound Cake – it looked like a giant sticky bun with coconut added.  But the Strawberry Blackberr... 07/10/2008