Monday, March 23, 2015

Real Estate Auctions. Going once, going twice....

Follow my friend Joe Bogg's link here and read all about Auctions...

http://newsletter.homeactions.net/archive/full_article/5664/2473992/909574/210 

Real Estate: Getting A Deal At Auction...

Certainly, auctions let you acquire valuable properties at a low price. For example, the National Association of Realtors estimated foreclosed homes were selling at a 14 percent discount in the final quarter of 2014.
And while everyone loves a deal, foreclosures represent only a small fraction of all the properties listed for sale in any market.

You might find an even better bargain among the properties that aren't foreclosures.  Auctions can be complicated, emotional and financially risky. Here are five tips ...

Monday, March 16, 2015

"Net Neutrality" and Real Estate


REALTORS
Real estate wins with federal rule prohibiting fast & slow lanes on the Internet. http://t.co/UnOj7K4HTF #NetNeutrality
3/13/15, 10:30 AM


My concern here is truly apolitical


I strongly disagree. Federal Gov. interference will make the net a mess!
You know that mountain of forest-decimating paperwork you have to go through when you buy a house?  Well, Lawyers and plaintiffs are mostly to blame, the rest of the fault for the deforestation and hand cramps you see at a closing rests on the shoulders of the government.

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e5/09/66/e509667fa5b59b888a1aa14c50dc231d.jpgEver heard of the real estate crash of 2006-2007?  Want to know who was the main contributor to that popping bubble?  The Federal Government.  Now the Feds want to regulate access and speed and content on the internet.  As REALTORS(R) we have first hand experience with the Fed. Gov. NOT improving things when they increase their involvement. Advocates for the federal restrictions cite "fairness to companies that can't afford it."  Regulation via the FCC is a terrible idea and not at all a free-market solution.

Of note is that FCC commissioner Michael O’Rielly voted against the FCC's plan and called it “monumentally flawed”


http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/re-max-balloon-mark-mcreynolds.jpgFinally, did ReMax, Ebby, Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker, etc. get where they are through innovation, struggle, and character in a free market environment or through propping up by the gov. and under the thumb of federal control?”

I said this was an apolitical issue for me.  But it has a strong philosophical or world-view elements behind it.  If you believe in a zero-sum world, if you suffer from Tall Poppy Syndrome, then yeah, you'll love net-neutrality.  But since when does a fervently entrepreneurial group like the National Association of REALTORS(R) think like that?  If that was our mantra, there would be no real estate professionals... period.
http://www.gagbay.com/images/2012/09/i_built_this_with_my_bear_hands-142999.jpg

If JTOden Realty has a huge presence on the web it should be because we worked hard to achieve it.  Invested lots to get us there, etc.  This isn't a "You didn't Build that" political jaw.  I know the government is responsible for infrastructure and communication to a degree and that's cool.  But cutting off the tall poppies because you think it's the fair thing to do to the short poppies is immoral, foolish, and frankly un-American.

Prior to becoming British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher explained her philosophy to an American audience as "let your poppies grow tall" --Wikipedia.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Gap Year? How about instead you get a RE License?

Very off-topic for this little blog.  However, my friend posted this on FB and I thought it worthy.  It is germane to real estate in the sense that I wish I'd started my RE career earlier.  After high school as an intern, assistant, etc?  You bet.  I wish I'd gone to Texas A&M with the sole purpose of discovering the Real Estate Center.

Anyway, here's my friend's inspiring post, and the link to the article to which she refers:

http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/06/24/why-taking-gap-year-can-benefit-students?cmpid=wfs-fb