I posted about the lawsuits involving this a little bit ago.  Today was the day of the actual event. March 24, 1989 was the day the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska, and spilled over 11 million gallons of crude oil into the surrounding waters.  That reminds me of an "unrelated" topic.  Drinking and driving!  Please don't do it. The price is way too high! Nate RoweThe Nate Rowe Groupwww.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate If you or anyone you know is searching for Homes in Richmond VA, I would love for you to consider The Nate Rowe Group to be your realty professionals.  I would be honored to be your Realtor in Richmond VA. Oakstone ... 03/24/2009

March 23rd, 1985 was the day Billy Joel married Christie Brinkley.  I know they are no longer together, but I mostly used that as a transition into my next thought.  What a performer he is.  I have seen him live twice, and sang all the hits for weeks before, and weeks after each show.  If you appreciate music, I guarantee you that he will blow your mind.  I guess I could say he is one of my favorites.  Anyone care to reply with a musical memory that's special to them? Nate RoweThe Nate Rowe Groupwww.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate If you or anyone you know is searching for Homes in Richmond VA, I would love for you to consider The... 03/23/2009

Creative Marketing While Having Fun And Getting In Shape.  You Can't Go Wrong! I wanted to write today and tell you about a creative way to market your business while having fun and getting in shape.  I have been on a volleyball team here in Richmond at a club called R.V.C. (Richmond Volleyball Club) for a while now.  My dad, my girlfriend and I played on a group that was sponsored by my mom's hospital.  This past season we were told about halfway through that the hospital was not going to sponsor the team for the next season due to the economy.  We all love to play volleyball and weren't sure what to do. *My light bulb went off*.... The Nate Rowe Group could sponsor a team.  We could still play every Wed. evening, have fun, keep in shape and market my business.  I signed up "The Nate R... 03/23/2009

March 22, 1765 was the day that the Stamp Act was put into place for the American Colonies to pay taxes to the English Crown.  It was the first direct tax waged against the colonies, and it led to the cries regarding "taxation without representation".  This was probably the first of several definable events that eventually led to the Revolutionary War, and American independence. Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate If you or anyone you know is searching for Homes in Richmond VA, I would love for you to consider The Nate Rowe Group to be your realty professionals.  I would be honored to be your Realtor in Richmond VA. Oaks... 03/22/2009

Getting Referrals On Active Rain?  Is It Worth It?  Should You Keep Blogging and Commenting? YES! YES! YES!  I just received a referral from a wonderful lady named Teri.  This referral came through my being on Active Rain.  I started with Active Rain back in Nov. of 2008, I believe.  I have been steadily blogging and commenting since then (I have missed a couple of days that I couldn't help).  Well, yesterday was the day that Teri sent me a very promising lead.  I have already lined the referral up with a lender and I will work hard to find her a first home of her dreams after that. The point of this blog is to tell anyone that is new to Active Rain to keep blogging and commenting and putting yourself out there.  If you keep yourself in the light, you might just walk away with some grea... 03/22/2009

American Express has been delivering packages for a while now.  Do you remember when they got started?  In the 70's or 80's some might guess.  Actually, it was in the 50's, but not the 1950's.  It was March 18, 1850 when Henry Wells and William Fargo formed the American Express Company in Buffalo, New York. Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate If you or anyone you know is searching for Homes in Richmond VA, I would love for you to consider The Nate Rowe Group to be your realty professionals.  I would be honored to be your Realtor in Richmond VA. Oakstone Properties 03/18/2009

I visited my parents' house briefly the other day.  I took a few minutes and played for a while with their new kitten "Dr. Watson".  I started to wonder about the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, probably one of my dads' favorites it seems.  The first Holmes story was published on March 16th, 1897.  It was titled "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot".  Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate If you or anyone you know is searching for Homes in Richmond VA, I would love for you to consider The Nate Rowe Group to be your realty professionals.  I would be honored to be your Realtor in Richmond VA. Oakstone Properties 03/16/2009

How long have escalators been around?  There had to be a very first one somewhere.  The patent for the escalator was granted March 15th, 1982 and the first working one was put into service in New York City not long after that.  Jesse W. Reno was the inventor that was awarded the patent.  I'm glad he was not as impressed with his efforts as some inventors have been.  Riding the Renolater doesn't have a very good ring to it. Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate If you or anyone you know is searching for Homes in Richmond VA, I would love for you to consider The Nate Rowe Group to be your realty professionals.  I would be ho... 03/16/2009

For any of you out there that like to purchase raw land, this is for you.  I wish I could by a piece of land this big for $6000.  This is just unbelievable!  This would be one great investment. We have all heard about the good deals for land purchases made in our countries relatively short history, like the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, or the Alaska Purchase of 1867.  I just learned of another rather nice purchase the State of Massachusetts made in 1677.  Massachusetts bought what is now the State of Maine from the descendents of the Ferninando Gorges family for $6000.  I think the time for the really great deals has passed. Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in ... 03/13/2009

March 13th, 1991 Exxon paid $1,000,000,000 in fines and cleanup cost for the oil spill caused by the grounded super tanker in Alaska.  As far as I can determine, it remains the biggest such pay out by any company found responsible for a particular environmental event.  Luckily for us all, there have not been any more catastrophic spills causing similar damage since the Valdez incident occurred on March 24th, 1989. Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate If you or anyone you know is searching for Homes in Richmond VA, I would love for you to consider The Nate Rowe Group to be your realty professionals.  I would be honored to ... 03/12/2009

If you think the snow storms we had recently were bad, read this.  Richmond would be shut down for two weeks. March 11, 1888 was the beginning day of a 3 day blizzard that paralyzed much of the northeast.  Some locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts received as much as 50" of snow, while New York and New Jersey were spared, with only about 40" in many places.  Drift of snow as high as 50' were reported.  I think maybe the 6" we got a few days ago is just about right. Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate If you or anyone you know is searching for Homes in Richmond VA, I would love for you to consider The Nate Rowe Grou... 03/11/2009

March 10, 1849 was not a great debate day for Abraham Lincoln.  It was not a day of a brilliant oratory neither in favor of nor in opposition against anything.  It was not even a quiet day of reflection about lofty goals and dreams.  It was the day he applied for, and later received a patent for his invention.  Patent #6469 was granted to the future president for his invention of a mechanical device for lifting small river boats going over and off of sandbars in the water.  Unfortunately for Lincoln, the device was never manufactured, so politics would have to continue as his career.   Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate... 03/10/2009

"If you don't care, keep it to yourself!"   Let's all be courteous of one another.  I have ended the title of a couple of my blogs this way.  I am not trying to be rude I assure you.  A while back, I wrote a blog that had to do with the most important document in American history.  One of the responses was from someone who thought they should tell me how irrelevant it was.  We all blog about some important topics and some topics that are not so important (at least to everyone), what matters is that we took the time to do it.  If someone takes the time to write a blog that you have no interest in, just move on.  None of us need to get feedback from someone that doesn't care.  If you comment about a certain topic in the post or have some info to pass on then that's great, but if you want ... 03/10/2009

"At this price, the sellers will not make any repairs!".  I saw this on a listing today.  Today?   In today's market?  Good luck on that.  Why on earth would a seller tell their agent that.  Most importantly, why would an agent not tell them that this is the wrong way to go about the listing.  In my opinion, you might as well say foreclosure or short sale.  When my clients see this wording, they already expect problems.  Let's face it, this comes to everyone's mind when they see it.  In my opinion, if you are serious about selling your home, you should be willing to do whatever it takes within reason.  I believe working with the buyer on the home inspection would help tremendously.  This is just my opinion. Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond... 03/09/2009

March 9, 1959 was the date of the first of 800 million Barbie Dolls (of course, the sales continue still) that have been sold.  I bet my sister had at least a dozen of them.  I can tell you from first hand experience, it hurts to step on one in the dark when you are barefooted.  I have seen them in the toy stores, so I guess they are still very popular today. Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate If you or anyone you know is searching for Homes in Richmond VA, I would love for you to consider The Nate Rowe Group to be your realty professionals.  I would be honored to be your Realtor in Richmond VA. Oakstone Properties 03/09/2009

March 8, 1983 was the day that DOS 2.0 was released.  I think it is considered the first real working version available to the public for personal computers.  That more or less is the current life span of the computer, 26 short years.  The rapid changes and innovations are very hard to keep up with.  I think if you have ever entered the race in this arena, it would be nearly impossible to sit on the sidelines for more than a month or two and expect to ever catch up again. Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate If you or anyone you know is searching for Homes in Richmond VA, I would love for you to consider The Nate Rowe Gro... 03/08/2009

If you find yourself wanting more business, try asking an agent at your office if you can hold one of their listings open.  This is a great way to pick up potential buyers.    If you don't like holding houses open, but your business is slipping, its time to suck it up and get your hands dirty.  In this economy, we need to do things that we don't like in order to grow our businesses.   I don't care how much business I have, I am always hungry for more.  I held a home open for another agent at my office today.  She asked me if I would help her a while ago and I agreed.  It is hard to sell a home at an open house (at least it doesn't happen too often in Richmond), but it is a great way to pick up potential buyers.  I actually talked with two brothers that invest in real estate together for... 03/08/2009

March 7, 1876 was the day Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone.  He beat a competing inventor, Elisha Gray, to the punch by just a few hours, and won the legal battle over the rights of ownership in the courtroom.  The most recognized quote assigned to Mr. Bell is probably "Mr. Watson-come here-I want to see you" which are believed to be the first words successfully transmitted from one telephone to another. Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate If you or anyone you know is searching for Homes in Richmond VA, I would love for you to consider The Nate Rowe Group to be your realty professionals.  I would be honored t... 03/07/2009

Everyday could be a day of remembrance.  I think this day is worth mentioning.  306 U.S. Navy crew members and passengers lost their lives unrelated to a war.  I take my hat off to them.  Anyone who fights for or defends this country that we call home in time of war or peace deserves the highest level of respect.  To all of you veterans and current service men and women, we appreciate all that you have done and can only call the United States our home because of your unselfish efforts to insure that our freedom survives.  To all of you that have died defending this country, you will be missed but never forgotten.    Thank You All! March 6, 1918, the U.S.S. Cyclops disappeared.  Her 306 crew members and passengers, and even the ship itself were never heard from again.  No distress signal... 03/06/2009

Remember the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibition for drinking, which was later repelled?  It was not the first such attempt.  On March 5th, 1623 the first temperance law passed in the new world was right here in Virginia.  My suspicion is, the House members were plastered, and someone snuck the proposal under the stack of graft payment checks they were signing, and it was all a big misunderstanding. Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate If you or anyone you know is searching for Homes in Richmond VA, I would love for you to consider The Nate Rowe Group to be your realty professionals.  I would be honored to be ... 03/05/2009