Viji Sashikant's (activeincolumbia) Blog

The Cricket Match to benefit the Family Shelter was held on Saturday, May 16th at the Earlewood Park in Columbia. The Family Shelter is an emergency shelter for homeless families with children. This was a unique event as most Americans have not seen cricket being played. Cricket lovers and those ...

Great news for First-time Home Buyers! Now they can actually get their $8,000 tax credit when they buy their home. FHA's approved lenders will be permitted to "monetize" the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the clo...

Yesterday, I was out showing homes in one of the new sub-divisions. Not only were the streets narrow, but homes were tightly packed with barely 10 feet between them. Visualize this scenario. It's a Saturday night, and there's a barbecue in one of the homes. There are about 15 people having a grea...

You know you can spot a sales person - Type A personality, a ready smile, not easily ruffled (in public, maybe a soundless AAaaarrrgghhh in the car afterwords) and confident. You know we've been told over and over again to smile thru our eyes, make eye contact, give a strong handshake and be a li...

Adorable dollhouse in East Lake, SE Columbia for $149,000. 2-year old home - never lived in before. Large corner lot, cute front porch, extra wide patio. 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms, 1-car garage. Great Room with dining area, kitchen with lots of cabinet space. All bedrooms on 2nd floor, huge Maste...

This year is just 3 1/2 months old and we have had 2 dramatic rescues! It gives me gooseflesh just to think of these unbelieveable acts of bravery, heroism and superb skill. The 1st was the spectacular landing of US Airways plane on the icy Hudson on January 15th with all 155 passengers walking o...

3334 Makeway Drive, Columbia, SC 29201 $167,500 only! Tons of upgrades in this immaculate 2-year old home. Quintessential front porch - a must-have for a Southerner! Formal Living and Dining Rooms with HW floors and high ceilings. Elegant Living Room has Fireplace. Gorgeous kitchen with Hardwood ...

I received a check for $4,450 in my name at my office address. The check was from Fidelity Title drawn on SunTrust Bank in FL. And the check was delivered by UPS and was sent by Elias Distribution Center in Chicago. Since I receive checks only from my broker, I smelled a rat. Why would Fidelity T...

Are you a homeowner and need a new HVAC? How about a new roof? Or double-glazed energy-efficient windows? Have you been putting off installing any of these because of the costs? Dear Homeowner, the time is now! Because part of the stimulus package is a nice tax credit for energy-efficiency upgrad...

Real as in real estate. What a fascinating topic! What's real? What a great job I have! I can work as much as I want, go to the gym in the middle of the day (but then I waste precious prospecting time), take a vacation (but then I don't get paid)... Okay, the reality is that if you are in real es...