November 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

Op Ed

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To my American readers, Happy Thanksgiving! (To my Canadian readers, happy belated Thanksgiving. I celebrated with you last month when my very dear Vancouver-ite clients reminded me that y’all celebrate before we Yanks do.) Some Thanksgiving quotes: Daniel Webster, Second Speech on Foot’s Revolution, Jan 26, 1830: I thank God, that if I am gifted with little of [...]

27 November 2008 Read the full article →

Thanksgiving – 10 Reasons to be Thankful

Op Ed

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This has been a difficult year for many of us.  What started out as a real estate bubble bursting 2 1/2 years ago has morphed into the worst recession we’ve had in a long time.  Just about everyone I know has been affected by it.  (except my friend Matt, who’s a pharmacist.)  And if you [...]

26 November 2008 Read the full article →

Help for Homeowners

Foreclosures

Today’s Fed announcement marks another step towards getting the housing market un-slumped. Finally, Hank and Ben seem to be getting it: the world’s financial meltdown started in the US housing market and the solution should begin by focusing on housing. Recently, mortgage industry heavyweights Countrywide (now Bank of America), JP Morgan and Citigroup announced a [...]

25 November 2008 Read the full article →

Staging Tips For Entryways

Homeowner Help

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Staging is vital in making your home as appealing to potential buyers as possible. However, staging effectively can be a challenge in tract houses, which by nature are uninteresting square white boxes. Metro Phoenix is filled to bursting with tract housing, especially in the price ranges in reach of the average working family. Here’s a [...]

25 November 2008 Read the full article →

Pricing Houses is Like Buying a Used Car

Seller Help

Here’s a little piece of advice I give to sellers who are struggling to really hear and internalize the pricing advice I’ve given them. (Because in today’s market, it never fails that my advised listing price is less than the sellers hoped for.) Think about buying a new car. Or a used car. Whatever. You [...]

24 November 2008 Read the full article →

Sunday Stats

Market Analysis & Stats

photo credit to MiamiAmia,  via StockExchange. Click here to see the entire Sunday Stats series, and for historical perspective. Heather Barr is a Realtor and a happy workaholic. She eats more than someone her size ought to be able, and is a runner as a consequence. Her TiVo’s full of spy thrillers, police procedurals and [...]

23 November 2008 Read the full article →

Please Don’t Kill Your Realtor

Seller Help

On a break this weekend; reposting an oldie but goodie from September 2007. Picture credit to an unknown user at Stock.Exchange Let’s say you’re a homeowner who needs to sell and you’ve invited several Realtors over to interview them. Many will Oooh and Aaaah, tell you how truly lovely your wall-to-wall orange shag carpeting is [...]

22 November 2008 Read the full article →

42-inch TV Raffle for Charity

Lifestyle

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Many of you know my wife & I do a lot of work with NMTSA (Neurologic Music Therapy Services of Arizona), a charity serving individuals and families with many different neurological impairments, but whose primary focus is on autism. We held our first annual fall fundraiser last weekend, which was a lot of fun in [...]

21 November 2008 Read the full article →

No auto bailout, please…

In The News

I’m still unclear about the bank (wall street) bailout.  I’m not exactly sure where the money is going, and how it is going to help the average homeowner.  But I do have confidence about a couple of points: 1. If banks stop making loans, our entire economy (and the global economy) will grind to a [...]

20 November 2008 Read the full article →

Household Quickie – Square Muffins

Homeowner Help

I found this item via my membership at eVite, the online invitation and party ideas scene. Square muffins are apparently all the rage with the party set and in-the-know home chefs. I dunno about that; will check it with my foodie friend Sarah. In any case, eVite had some great ideas for other uses for [...]

19 November 2008 Read the full article →

SRP Rebates for Old Fridges

In The News

SRP will haul away old fridges, recycle most of the parts and send you a check for $30 for each recycled fridge.

19 November 2008 Read the full article →

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