Op Ed

How safe is nuclear energy?

In The News

I’ve never been wildly pro or anti nuclear energy, mostly because I’ve never spent the time to really understand it.  But with the Palo Verde plant (the largest energy producer in the country!) in our own backyard, it’s something I’ve always wondered about. Well… Today I saw a graph depicting the relative safety of various [...]

23 March 2011 Read the full article →

7 Best Free Softwares

Op Ed

Lately I’ve come to realize that I’m reliant on free software, mostly cloud-based, which in most cases I didn’t even know existed a year ago!  These 7 applications are not just cool – they’ve made my life easier: 1. Evernote The first thing I open when I turn on my computer (any of my computers), [...]

28 February 2011 Read the full article →

Some mortgage executives face criminal charges

In The News

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker’s former Treasurer will enter a plea agreement for federal criminal charges tomorrow (Feb 24, 2011). The mortgage firm imploded in Fall 2009 and investigators are still sifting through the ashes. So far, they’ve discovered a trail of fraud amounting to as much as $2 billion. TBW’s Treasurer, Desiree Brown, is widely [...]

23 February 2011 Read the full article →

Funny things in the MLS

Investors

This is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in the Arizona Regional MLS in a long while. It’s in the Realtor-to-Realtor “private remarks” data field. Promise of response within 12 hours with a full price non-contingent offer. Okayfine…   How random. Am I supposed to think that’s a good thing? Cranky me, I feel like [...]

18 February 2011 Read the full article →

Frank & Nick – student managers for Villanova Basketball

Op Ed

(Video below) I’m a hard-core Arizona Wildcat fan.  But as a parent of a non-verbal son with autism, I’m also very aware of how people and organizations treat others, particularly those whose first appearance doesn’t tell their whole story. Enter Villanova basketball. Yesterday ESPN ran a story on the Villanova basketball program – turns out [...]

14 February 2011 Read the full article →

Charting 2010

In The News

The Calculated Risk Blog published a post using a number of charts to show & tell the economy’s story of 2010. Keeping in mind these are from a national view, and that Arizona’s numbers will be different, I still thought a few of them were worth sharing, especially since they tell a story of being [...]

26 January 2011 Read the full article →

Truly Useful Technology – Beer Drinkers Rejoice!

Op Ed

I don’t know about you, but for me the word technology brings up images of computers, cell phones, and other electronic gadgetry.  But real technology is more useful than that.  Real technology expands our civilization (cars & roads), powers our lives (energy), and wins wars (name your weapon here). Does this count as a truly [...]

25 January 2011 Read the full article →

Bank of America posts earnings loss

In The News

Bank of America just posted a big loss. Bank of America, among many other things the #2 residential mortgage lender and #1 servicer, reported a second straight quarterly loss, driven by write-downs in the value of its mortgage business. The bank lost $1.57 billion, or 16 cents a share, compared with a loss of $5.2 [...]

23 January 2011 Read the full article →

Not paying your mortgage? Don’t worry, banks making money off you anyhow.

Investors

Clients always ask me, “WHY are banks so SLOW in agreeing to short sales??” There’s a ton of reasons; almost none of them make sense. But for about 2-3 years I’ve been adding this opinion to my list of reasons banks are slow to OK short sales. Mind you, this is my opinion. I have [...]

14 January 2011 Read the full article →

Happy Thanksgiving America!

Op Ed

picture credit stock exchange user davidlat, image id 667872 . It’s been a darn hard year for lots of Americans, and people around the world. Find something to be thankful about and if it’s a person, tell them how you feel. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Chris & Heather, The Phoenix Agents at Thompson’s Realty, a.k.a. the Phoenix [...]

25 November 2010 Read the full article →

Fannie Mae is cost cutting

In The News

Just got a newsflash via my email subscription to Inman.com, a real estate industry news source. Fannie Mae has launched a pilot program in three markets in which it’s only accepting offers on properties in its real estate owned (REO) inventory when they are first submitted online by agents representing buyers. Test markets are Orlando, [...]

19 November 2010 Read the full article →