« July 2008 | Main | September 2008 »
Have you seen this site, Homethinking.com?
According to their home page, it's designed to show consumers the "transactional histories of real estate agents and mortgage lenders. In theory the idea is great - find out what kind of experience your REALTOR® or mortgage lender has before contacting them. One of the great things the internet has provided is the ability to research and qualify BEFORE ever talking with a practitioner. I'm sure what they're doing is just compiling statistics from public records and MLS statistics, I just wish the figures Homethinking gives were right ...
If you look at my bio, it says that I sell 3 bedroom homes, averaging $214000 per sale. When I compare that to statistics from the New River Valley's MLS, I see that they got that ALMOST right. My average sale has been $217437 over the last five years, but they also say I'm selling 35 properties right now. I WISH I was selling 35 properties right now, but it's more like 11:
Of the homes they show on the first page, one of them I had listed but didn't sell (yes, it happens from time to time), three others I sold last year, and two that are listed as homes are actually land.
So what's the point? While I welcome the opportunity to demonstrate how we stand out from the crowd, how reliable IS this data, really? If Homethinking shows we're actively selling 35 properties, does that give a potential buyer or seller the impression that we're too busy for them? Can you even make an informed decision off of information like this?
Since we're discussing the issue of relevant information, they recommend other real estate agents in our area, as well. I'm sure this is a rotating, revolving ad, but they're advertising a Northern Virginia agent as serving Blacksburg. That doesn't seem very relevant.
Just another reminder that while sites like HomeThinking.com try to be a one stop shop for finding the best agents out there, sometimes you need to do a little more research. Talk to them ... read their blogs ... get to to know them ... perhaps your perceptions will be changed, and maybe they'll be validated, but you'll know that you can rely on your findings 100% of the time.
Stuart Mease reposted an article from the NY Times on his blog.
I'm curious what people think - and I'd encourage you to leave comments on his post - should parents be following their kids to school?
So many folks are using mobile phones that are able to browse the Interweb these days, that it seemed like the NRVLiving Real Estate Blog needed to adapt or get left behind. Since I don't like being left behind, we've updated our look a little bit, and you're likely not going to notice the change. But if I point it out ...
If you were reading the blog on a desktop or laptop, and clicked on that button, it'd take you to a site that looked like this ... and that's not very interesting. But, if you were reading the blog on your iPhone or web-enabled phone and went to
http://nrvliving.mofuse.mobi/
the site will look like this on your phone
Much better - if you're into mobile browsing, point your phone's browser to http://nrvliving.mofuse.mobi/ and bookmark it!
Christiansburg's Town Council has approved the use of low speed vehicles on Town streets.
Just because the Commonwealth allows it, doesn't mean it makes it a good idea <insert sound of your Mother's voice here>.
They're called low-speed vehicles for a reason. Putting them on streets with vehicles that travel at HIGH speed, when they have no exterior protection or safety features, is just asking for trouble.
Councilman Huppert has it right, I think, but why did he give in?
"... should the vehicles become a problem." How will we determine that they're truly a problem? When someone loses their life?
The picture has nothing to do with the post - I just liked it. Photo credit here.
Chris Pund talks about his reasons why small towns and cities are great for starting a business. Chris isn't new to the small business scene - he's a serial entrepreneur, and received high praise from Stuart Mease for his role in Radford's student-run entrepreneurship seminar.
I think Chris is on track here. Items #2, 6 and 9 in particular are truly benefits to living and working in a small town; there seems to be more flexibility and a spirit of collaboration among many of these smaller firms. If you're thinking about starting a business in the New River Valley, let's talk about how to get you started - I'd bet there might be some folks at VT Knowledgeworks that might be interested in helping, as well.
H/t to Stuart Mease for this ...
If you enjoyed this post, why not leave a comment and subscribe via RSS or email here to be sure you don't miss the next post?
I like mob stuff. Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Vito Genovese ... I don't know why, but that old time mob thing has always been interesting to me. So it's no surprise that when I was introduced to the application "Mob Wars" on Facebook I jumped on it.
Are you kidding me?? Create a mob, buy and sell firearms and exotic cars, real estate ... get in fights ... it's a dream! It's addicting, and - I'm entirely embarrassed to admit this - I check into my Facebook account at least a half dozen times a day now to see how my "investments" are doing, and to see if anyone's punched me (yes, that's an option). My wife is now entirely convinced I'm crazy, as I'm discussing my next investment - an apartment building, or a casino, or an armored Range Rover.
Okay, that wasn't as embarrassing as I thought it'd be. Wait, yes it was. And through this process, I've discovered that I'd be an awful mobster. Mom, I guess that dream I had as a kid of being in the garbage business just isn't going to pan out.
See, I'm an impulse buyer, so when I get a little cash I immediately start looking for ways to spend it. "A bulletproof SUV's only $90000? Sure, I'll buy two!" "You mean I can buy 5 vacant lots that are only producing $500 in income? Awesome, sign me up!" A few purchases later and I'm left with $600 and nothing to show for it.
Silly as it may sound though, Mob Wars has taught me something about working with real estate investors. People say "debt is bad, don't be in debt", and while there are some very solid reasons why debt CAN BE bad, in some cases it's not that black and white. See, when I'm playing Mob Wars, I have a tendency to buy things that decrease in value, and don't have any appreciating value. I know it's surprising to imagine, but a bullet proof vest just doesn't hold it's value after you've been in gunfights. I'm buying things that are creating BAD DEBT, and I need to be focusing on GOOD DEBT.
Bad Debt - borrowing to pay for depreciating assets, like a boat, or a car, or new golf clubs.
Good Debt - borrowing to pay for things that increase in value ... things like real estate, perhaps a business, or (sometimes) stocks.
By paying off the bad debt, and taking on good debt, a real estate investor's potential for big gains begins to grow exponentially. As an agent, I need to know how to identify the things that are limiting an investor's potential for real success. By educating, and working together to replace bad debt with good debt, everyone's goals are met.
Just remember to pay the Tax Man - all the good mobsters seem to conveniently forget that part.
Virginia Tech parents, are you in a bind for housing this semester? Tired of paying rent, and would like to move your child into a place that actually EARNS you money every year?
Whether your student is living on campus or off, most housing options have been decided at this point. However, there are some folks out there that still need housing in the Blacksburg area immediately, or are just fed up with the rental options. There ARE some options available, but we need to act quickly.
If you need:
then I've got some ideas.
If you want:
we should talk.
We need to act quickly though - contact me and we can get started!
The current count = 16 medals. 14 gold. Something like 20 world records ... and he's only 23.
Congratulations, Michael Phelps.
Photo credit - Reuters
On Saturday's NRVLiving Real Estate Show (which, coincidentally, we don't have an electronic
copy of - argh), we spent a good bit of time discussing HR 3221 - the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. This bill was introduced in July 30 2007, tweaked and massaged and - as evidenced by its 694 pages and 237 Amendments - added to several times until it was signed into law exactly one year later by President Bush on July 30 2008.
So what it is it? According to the House Committee on Financial Services, the bill is designed to respond to the housing crisis and prevent a repeat of problems. A good idea, yes, but look a little closer ... when you dig into it, there are some highlights that every American should be aware of, regardless of whether you're a homeowner or not. Some of the key points include:
So, say you bought a Blacksburg home for $300000 on January 15 2004, you lived in it for four years, and moved out January 15 2008. On January 15 2009, you sold it for $500000, making your capital gains $200000. Under the old system, you'd have $200000 in your pocket, tax free. Now, with the Capital Gains Exclusion Rule, it looks like this:
200000 * (1460 / 1825) = $200000 * .80 = $160000
$160000 of your profit will be exempt from capital gains, but there's $40000 left over the federal - and state - government would like a piece of. The federal capital gains rate is 15%, while the VA rate is 5.75%, so 20.75% - or $8300 - of that money you'll never see.
Good idea? Bad idea? According to GovTrack.us, the cost per American is $4 between 2008-2012. It seems to me that, while things like first-time buyer credits and lender write-offs might help stabilize and boost buyer confidence in some areas, things like the Capital Gains Exclusion Rule are just going to piss people off. And, at $8300 as in the example above, cost far more than just $4.
You can find the whole text here. Photo credit.
If you enjoyed this post, why not leave a comment and subscribe via RSS or email here to be sure you don't miss the next post?
Recent Comments