Crisp as fresh-picked apple bites,Clear brilliant days and starlit nights,On gentle wafts of Autumn’s breezeThe dappled shifting hues of leavesWill dance in shaking, giddy mirthUntil exhausted, tumble down to earth! (R Weisser 2013) Fall is here! This morning, for the first time thi...

09/28/2013

Fair market value and all cash real estate sales.

39 Comments

The classic definition of fair market value is the amount that a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept without duress. Recently there has been a lot of confusion about fair market value because a new variable has been added to the mix: The amount that can be borrowed is often ...

09/27/2013

The power of the Internet! The Feds cave in to common sense!

6 Comments

When HUD proposed a new short sale agency regulation scheduled to take place on October 1 1013, a groundswell of indignation soon escalated into a tsunami of objection. To its credit, NAR took the lead in pointing out the negative consequences of the rule and made a clear case to at least delay i...

09/27/2013

HUD, FHA, and the inept bureaucrats that run them.

26 Comments

I have long standing issues with HUD and the bureaucrats charged with running it. They provide the perfect example of big government fat cats collecting huge paychecks for themselves while losing sight of their mission. The latest Pontification of Idiocy is the new HUD rule effective Oct 1, 2013 ...

09/24/2013

Why the way we used to do it in real estate doesn’t matter anymore!

15 Comments

For those of us that have been in the real estate business for a long time, we often catch ourselves saying something along the lines of: “That’s not the way that we used to do it.” And while it is true that things were a lot different back the day, the fact of the matter is that it doesn’t amoun...

09/23/2013

It’s now official! Fall is here at last!

14 Comments

The battle’s lost, Old Sol must yieldTo darkness creeping o’er the field,The lamp is snuffed and radiant lightSurrenders to the pall of Night! (R Weisser 2013) At 4:44 P.M EDT on Sunday September 22 the Sun will be positioned directly above the equator. That translates to equal hour...

09/21/2013

Drive or fly? How far is too far to drive?

7 Comments

I recently had some family members visit from a neighboring state. In order to spend the least amount of travel time they elected to fly on a commercial airline rather than make the eight hour drive down I-85. Unfortunately, their plans went awry when their flight was cancelled due to a mechanica...

09/21/2013

The jumping social network page and the bogus click.

13 Comments

Lately I have been noticing that a lot of sites that are laden with ads tend to jump around when you attempt to click on a button or hyperlink. At the exact moment that you left click, the page moves and miraculously and coincidentally you wind up clicking on a ad for some product or service that...

09/19/2013

Incurable Functional Obsolescence

11 Comments

We have all seen homes that suffer from functional obsolescence. Functional obsolescence is an inherent design or utility flaw that does not satisfy the demands of today’s consumers and lowers the value of the home. Many older homes that have gone through multiple renovations and additions have s...

09/17/2013

When do I get to stop thinking?

8 Comments

All of our gadgets are touted as getting smarter and smarter every day. "Smart" is not just an attribute for phones any more. Everything from cars to televisions to refrigerators are taking on more of our thinking workload every day. Since we no longer have to think so much for ourselves anymore,...

09/17/2013