"It is a wonderful day to buy real estate.  And remember, if this call is after 6:00 P.M. it will be returned the following business day!"   If you are a Realtor and your voicemail says this, please don't get mad at me for not understanding, I am just trying to figure it out.  I could never put that message on my voicemail and if it is on yours then you are obviously doing a lot better in this market than most Realtors including myself. Here's how I see it.  Most people searching for a home have a job.  Most people that have jobs don't get home, kiss the spouse and kids, use the bathroom and sit down at the computer until at least 6:00(I know some of them work at a computer, but let's face it, most people can't sit back and look at real estate all day without getting fired).  Now, if th... 03/04/2009

The Inauguration for our President is in January, correct?  Well, many Presidents took the oath of office on March 4th.  Among them John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, James Polk, Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Grant, James Garfield, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Herbert Hoover.  I think the official reason for stepping the date up several weeks was to give the new President more vacation days, and more days for creating general mayhem in between vacations, but I was not able to confirm this.   Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     Homes in Richmond VA and Homes in Henrico County VA                                   Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richm... 03/04/2009

On this date, March 3rd, 1791, the first United States Mint was established.  The Mint is responsible for making all the coins for the government since that time.  I know there is, or has been one in Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco.  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 03/03/2009

On this date, March 2nd 1933, was the premiere of the movie King Kong.  There have been several remakes of the movie.  Have you ever noticed that in some movies we remember the character name of a lead role, and in others we remember the actor/actress name?  The female lead in that movie, the blonde Kong was holding at the top of the Empire State building was Fay Wray.  Many people win a wedge in Trivial Pursuit for knowing that.  I bet not many would know her character name in the movie was Ann Darrow (I didn't either, until 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... 03/02/2009

I was so jealous of some Active Rain members... Now I finally got mine!  I hate to admit that I was jealous, but I have to be honest and say that I was.  I was reading about it in so many blogs.  I was seeing picture after picture about it also.  I was just dying for it to happen to me.  "Just let me have the chance, that's all I want", I kept saying to myself. Well my friends, here it is.  That's right!  The white stuff started falling yesterday afternoon and lasted all through the night.  We got about 8-12" in and around the Richmond area and it feels great.  I know some of you have a lot more, but that was good enough for me.  The power stayed on and I have just loved it.  I was showing some houses in it yesterday and it was actually a little tricky getting home.  My little terrier L... 03/02/2009

You've no doubt heard it before, but it always bears repeating... Remove wallpaper prior to putting your house on the market.  I recently did a Walk & Talk Consultation for some sellers who had their house on the market for a very long time, 175 days. Overall, their house was in pretty good shape.  They had decluttered and maintained it well.  I suggested a few additional decor items, repositioned some furniture, etc.  Unfortunately, their previous agent told them it was okay to leave up the wallpaper that was in the diining room and entry (sorry no before photo of that space).  Why would an agent say that in this market?  During my consultation, I insisted it would be worth their effort to have the paper removed.  After their listing expired, they re-listed with one of my favorite agen... 03/02/2009

On this date, March 1st 1872, Yellowstone National Park was created as the first ever national park in the world.  There is over 300 square miles of land set aside for all generations to enjoy.  That's bigger than our Henrico County.  I have never traveled out west yet, but when I do, I hope to visit Yellowstone as part of the trip!   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 03/01/2009

On this date, February 28th, 1692 the Salem, Massachusetts witch hunts began.  My dad traveled through Salem as part of a vacation trip in the northeast.  He told me that even in the middle of the tourist trap shops and exhibits, there is really an eerie feeling in the town.  Although there were only a few executions in the United States, estimate range from 40,000 to 100,000 were put to death for being accused of being witches in Europe.  They were often given impossible task to survive, like being held under water for extended periods of time.  If they survived, they were proven to be witches, and they were usually burned at the stake.  If they died during the under water event, they were proven innocent, and all charges were dropped. Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                        ... 02/28/2009

It was $100,000 back then and now it is generally between $15-25 million.  I wonder if we can make that much selling real estate?  I will try to get to that point.  I will work very hard at it and I hope you will do the same.  I think it is possible.  On this date, February 27th, 1963 baseball legend and Hall of Fame member Mickey Mantle signed a new contract with the New York Yankees team.  The agreed salary was $100,000 and it was a lot of money for the time.  Today, the superstars of the game are paid in the $15-25 million dollar a year range.  As huge as it is, it reminds me of a joke I heard on late night television.  When you make that kind of money, you're RICH.  But the man who signs the check is WEALTHY. Thank You, Nate Rowe www.NateRowe.com                                     ... 02/27/2009

To all Realtors who are struggling in these tough economic times:  If we continue to take great care of our clients, work hard for them, stay in touch with them and be honest, WE WILL MAKE IT!  I wish you all the best and hope to see you around on Active Rain for a long time.     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 02/26/2009

Short Sales and Foreclosures are flooding the Market.  It seems that about 50% of the homes I show are a short sale or a foreclosure.  I fear the worst is still to come.  There are more and more people losing their jobs by the day.  The problem that I see is that this will continually drive the market value of people's homes down.   No matter where you point the blame (sub-prime lenders, over their head homeowners, our government or the economy), there are a lot of homeowners that are going to suffer that pay their mortgage every month.  I hope we can all get through this and that everyone will be alright. Nate Rowe                Homes in Richmond VA - Homes in Henrico County VA                             Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate www.NateRowe.com Oakston... 02/24/2009

Can we write about anything without getting accused of copyright infringement?   I wrote a blog a while back, talking about the Constitution and the amendments (Bill of Rights) and was told because I spelled them out in my blog, it could be considered copyright infringement (I was not accused, the person that commented was looking out for me so I did not get into anything bad and I appreciate her concern).   If I write a blog about America's most popular hamburger joint, do I have to call it Micky D's or can I spell out the real name?  I wrote a blog yesterday asking for opinions about two of the most used contact management systems and I was afraid to spell the names correctly because I might be accused.  I know not to copy pictures or songs, but is it so bad that I cannot write part o... 02/23/2009

TOPP PRODUCER vs. SEMINARS AND SYSTEMMS:   Real Estate contact management is very important and these two seem like the most used.   I would like to get everyone's opinion on which is better.  Please share your comments if you have any experience with these products.  Thank you in advance.  I know the spelling is off, I will tell you about it later.  Nate Rowe    Homes in Richmond VA - Homes in Henrico County VA                      Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate www.NateRowe.com Oakstone Properties 02/22/2009

I met some potential clients today for the first time.  They were a referral from another agent.  They called me today and said they wanted to see a certain home today.  I agreed and told them that the next step after that will be to get qualified. This is not the first home they bought, so when they started asking if the seller paid the commision, I started to get that feeling like I knew what was coming out of their mouth next.  What do you know, the next question was "if we don't use an agent, will they come down on the price?".  They then asked me to find out a little more info on the HOA and get it to them.  I had to tell them that I will get the info and call to set up another meeting.  I also told them that I will have a buyer representation contract with me and if we were going ... 02/21/2009

I was looking at some pictures on another member's blog and I decided to write this quick blog.  This might save you or anyone you care about a lot of money and headache.  It is very simple and costs nothing, in fact, you will SAVE MONEY. I have a lot of friends that are plumbers and I have gotten some advice from them that's very simple and unfortunately about 95% or more of people do not do it.  If you leave to go out of town for a couple of days or more, CUT THE WATER TO YOUR HOME OFF.  If you are out of town and one of those hoses on the back of your washing machine decides to burst, or your water heater decides it's had enough, or any number of plumbing related issues decides to happen, you will be in for a very expensive headache when you get home.  Unless you must have the water ... 02/20/2009

Active Rain is a great network.  I asked for advice on how to best utilize the network and make friends here and 8 people shared some wonderrful advice with me.  It means a great deal to have so many people that are willing to help newbies learn the ropes.   Thank you to everyone on Active Rain that responded to my blog on how to answer comments.  I appreciate all of your adivce and will put it to use.   I look forward to talking with everyone soon.  Nate Rowe      Homes in Richmond VA - Homes in Henrico County VA                     Your Realtor in Richmond VA for Richmond VA Real Estate www.NateRowe.com Oakstone Properties 02/15/2009

I want to get a little advice from the members of AR.  When someone comments on your blog, what is the best way to reply to their comment?  I have seen where people submit a comment on their own blog to thank someone or to answer back.  Does this work?  Do people really go back and check the blogs they have commented on to see if their comment was seen and answered?  When you get an email alert telling you that someone commented on your blog, there is always something there saying "Do Not Reply", then if you click on the persons info you get sent to their profile and can send them an email but it is no longer attached to discussion at hand.  I have written a blog before and thanked everyone for commenting, but I doubt everyone that comments realizes I am trying to thank them for a previ... 02/14/2009

This is a very scary situation that I have just been made aware of.  The same people that are scamming people with the emails "My late husband died and I have $10,000,000 U.S." are now targeting real estate property managers. Another Realtor at my office strictly deals with property management in and around Richmond.  He was representing a client and had his home up for rent.  He received a rental agreement and went to meet the renters at the property on the day they were moving in and when they opened the door, someone's belongings were already in the home (I am not sure how they got in).  There was no one there and the belongings included pictures of a family, clothes, food, personal papers, etc., so he did not think someone was being crooked with so much personal info lying around.  ... 02/13/2009

 The purest love should not be an accepted money making scheme. Am I the only person that thinks family lawyers make way too much money when they are representing clients in family law cases?  Criminal cases I can understand, but when you are dealing with the purest and rawest emotion that humans are capable of having (Love between Mother, Father and Children) don't you think it should mainly be about the welfare of the family.  I know you have to make some money for the work you put in, but $10,000 seems a little too high when someone just wants to see their child.  In my opinion, most of these lawyers love to drag things out and have the case go to trial (More and More Money).  If there are any lawyers that read this post that do not abuse family law cases, then I thank you and this p... 02/12/2009

Only 27 times since the Constitution was ratified has Congress voted (requiring 2/3 approval from both Houses) to make a change (called an Amendment) to the original document.  The first 10 changes were all approved at the same time in 1791 and have been collectively called "The Bill of Rights".  The eleventh through the twenty seventh Amendments occurred over the next 200 years.     Amendment 12:   Choosing the President, Vice-President.  Ratified 6/15/1804. The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they sh... 02/11/2009