"What's a land lease?"That's the question an investor asked me after she purchased a home at auction."It depends" was my initial answer.A look at her paperwork revealed that she owned the home but not the land, which was owned by the golf community trust.There were a number of paragraphs which ex
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02/02/2016
From time to time I write about non-real estate related things. This is one of those times.---"Why are you three so dressed up?"That was the question I asked of my three younger siblings as they stood curbside, with a look of expectation of something big."If we ride the joy bus 8 weeks in a row w
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01/23/2016
Teddy Roosevelt's foreign policy was to speak softly and carry a big stick.I hadn't thought too much about that strategy but it came to mind as I looked at this before and after picture of a few of my brood.If everyone else has a snowball, you should grab one for safe measure. Just saying.Right n
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01/01/2016
The snow falls gently to the pavement.One inch.Then two.Then Three.Then four.I put on my work boots, and coat and grab the shovel.And, sleepy eyed, push and scrape and heave-ho knowing that, snow?There will be more.I think of the widows and single moms- who'll shovel their paths?I awoke too lat
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12/13/2015
There is a bridge from Memphis to Vietnam- and only I could see it.The Move: Life as a military child involved being uprooted at a moment's notice. One day you're in California; a couple weeks later it’s Memphis, Tennessee. Though I'd become used to moving, this time was different. My father was
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11/11/2015
Every once in a while I share a story from my youth. I know... This is a real estate site- not a personal journal. I do this though to get a story out of my system. Why this is, I don't really know. Maybe it's to document the past. Though my childhood was a very happy one, there are a few experie
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10/26/2015
Can you keep a secret? photo credit "Two Rhesus Macaques at Blijdorp Zoo, Rotterdam (Netherlands)" by Jinterwas For me there has always been one big boundary to blogging- a blogger should never divulge information that is privileged.As a blogger your want to be informative.As a reader you want to
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10/11/2015
My mother was once gifted a sapphire ring. I was young and, of course, uneducated regarding the value of one piece of jewelry verses another but this thing had a quality that was beautiful, mysterious and unforgettable.The stone was a very dark brand of blue (almost black) and, from certain angle
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09/16/2015
I remember hearing that there was a farcical musical being made about the Book of Mormon.My initial reaction was, "Oh, this will bomb. The average person is not interested in such a niche topic."So, I was surprised that it not only found an audience but went on to win nine Tony Awards.So, it's ob
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07/30/2015
In most states the title company is the same for the buyer and seller.There may be a small back and forth between the buyer and seller with regard to which party picks the title company but, in the end, there is one representative preparing the closing documents.In Utah the seller and the buyer c
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07/29/2015