Not long ago, I spoke with a young woman who was trying to buy a house. She was pre-approved and ready to go. She called her agent, but her agent was on vacation. The buyer was given the back-up agent who said, "Sorry, you're on your own." It might be me, but if I discovered that my staff was tur
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03/30/2015
Alright home-buyer, you're under contract. Awesome! Now, the real work begins. What do I mean? Remember those contingencies we inserted in your contract? Yeah, they need to be fulfilled in order for us to get this property across the finish line. It's going to go something like this: Home inspect
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03/24/2015
I once had a college professor who used to say, "You can't keep birds from flying around your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair." I know, that's really deep, but hang with me for a minute. What was his point? You don't have to take in or accept every piece of info
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03/23/2015
When my older son was in his early teens, he and I would spend one night a week discussing stock trading. I was a pattern day-trader at that time, and he wanted to learn how to do the same. A pattern day-trader is someone who trades the same stock in and out of the market 4 or more in a five day
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03/22/2015
This year will be a lot different for me. I've decided that this year will be the year of "No". I've had a habit of always being available, and always being overly flexible and always being involved. I can't do that anymore. I've turned down as many buyers and sellers this year as I've taken. Why
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03/18/2015
Anytime I can travel with a bicycle, I do. Once I get accustomed to a location, I start laying out courses that normally span 12,15,20,25,30 and 50 miles. I was on the 12 mile run this morning and thought back to the process. I have a 12 mile run at home as well. The first time I did that run it
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03/18/2015
The Internet is a great source of buyers, sellers and tenants. It's also a great source of people who will never do business with you but they want to use you to get what they want. For instance, I received this request this morning: I'm looking through sold properties in Winchester, and I found
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03/17/2015
Does it annoy you when someone is rude or inconsiderate? I have a suggestion to righting society's consideration foibles. How about if you be the solution and maybe the problem will go away? Kat Palimiotti wrote a great blog about rude clients she encountered recently and it spurred a few thought
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03/16/2015
I always love the opportunity to teach a Virginia Housing Development Authority seminar. The classroom is full of first-time home buyers. Some are pretty savvy on the process, and some are hearing the process for the first time. VHDA offers financial assistance to first-time buyers. Lori Nokes,
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03/14/2015
A lot of us spend a lot of money on advertising, and if it is quality advertising it is money well spent. Once in a while, you run across advertising that is beyond your wallet, but it comes along and offers a great return. What kind of advertising am I talking about? Unsolicited client posts. I
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03/13/2015
