Emily Link's (elink) Blog

When I met Margaret Rome in Washington, D.C. during the NAR meetings, she gave me her book, "Real Estate the Rome Way".  I read it while there and finished it on the plane, returning to California.  It's a great book and I found new ways of doing business, even though I've been a Realtor for 30 y...

My Realtor colleagues and I met with our legislators yesterday to discuss housing issues with them and how they can help homeowners in their districts.  It is important for them to understand the diffference in what the rules are and how they are effectively played out at home.  Things sound so g...

I appreciate that my CRS buddy Jeff Dowler (Carlsbad, CA) invited me to join him and meet up with a few other Active Rain bloggers yesterday at the NAR Headquarter Hotel, the Washington Wardman Park Marriott.  I met Pat Kennedy, Margaret Rome, Monika and Jay Mc Gillicudy.  Margaret gave a copy of...

I had the pleasure of attending a presenation by Dick Betts on Smart Phones today in Calcary, Canada. He is a great presenter (one of my favorites) and I learned a lot about Super Phones and Smart Phones. If he will be in your area, attend his session.  Go to his website - www.DickBetts.com - or ...

More than ever, we need to stay on top of our escrows.   I've been in escrow for 2 ½ months where the buyer's agent has almost disappeared.  Oh, he tells me that he's "doing everything he can" but when he's doing nothing, what is everything?  All I want is for the loan to be funded and get my sel...

We are still waiting more than one month after the scheduled close of escrow.  In February, after 20 days of processing the loan, they claimed they couldn't do the loan.  When I met with the loan officer, she said they could.  That was 2 months ago and although we have loan approval, they can't s...

In order for a file to be reviewed to see if it be approved for a short sale, a FNMA loan must be two months late.  So, a buyer must harm their credit to order to find out if they can do a short sale or not.  This is what my seller was told to do.  She was told, "it appears that I can approve the...

Wow!  There was so much great information given regarding social media.  The speakers were Dustin Luther and Amy Chorew.  They gave overviews and nuts-and-bolts and inspired us to make changes to help us connect and interact with our clients and families.  If you get a chance to them, sign up and...

I have an appropriately-priced condo next to one that is a short sale listed by a broker from 2 counties away.  His is priced 20 % below mine and he doesn't care that he is hurting the homeowners and other sales in the complex.  I have spoken with him about his hurting prices and he just said, "y...

Buyers, don't listen to the media!  With rents in our area having increased 40% in the last 5 years and home prices at 2002-2003 prices, it's truly cheaper to own than rent.  There are affordable loans with low interest rates, lots of homes on the market, and unbelievable deals to be made.  Even ...