Jim Hirschhorn's (jhirschhorn) Blog

Termite Inspections. WDO (Wood Destroying Organisms). Most lenders require a clean report before they lend their money. Be honest. Haven't you watched countless WDO inspections and thought, I could do that! Poke a stick at some wood, shine a flashlight. Walk a Ladder. It does look surprisingly ea...

You see them everwhere... "We'll buy your house for cash!" "Amazing New Face Cream that will take years off of your life" "Get 100 T-shirts for $10.00. Limited time offer." These small cardboard signs sit on a little wire frame and are used by countless numbers of people and professions. Realtors...

It started on a balmy morning at 8:30am. At 1:30pm, we were locking up and heading out the door. 5 hours AND it was a vacant house. It almost doesn't seem possible (if I hadn't been there standing the entire time). 5 hours for $400.00. That's $80 bucks per hour..oh yea and you get a handy dandy r...

Do you blog the same time every day? every week? Are you a blogger that perfroms a ritual as in doing it the same way everytime? Where do you get your blog ideas from? Do you blog on weekends? Would love to hear about it. I find myself blogging early morning, based on the day. I seldom blog on we...

There I was, pumping gas and minding my own business. The lady at the next pump was talking to the gas station attendant and when they finished their conversation, she said, "Don't work too hard" What a concept! Don't work too hard. How hard is too hard? Is this becoming a way of life for some? N...

During the Boom, there was a certain builder in our market, who decided that commissions would be a fixed amount of $3,000. Whether you sold a $200,000 or $800,000 home, you got $3,000. Realtors throughout the land griped and grumbled. We planned our revenge and many decided that they would not e...

There has been a great deal written on agents leaving the business as sales have taken a down turn. My question is about the agents who have been able to stay in the business while supplementing their income in some way...even Real Estate Related. I will tell a personal story. I got an email from...

Even in this market a buyer that is sitting on the fence can be pushed over with a little down home sales skills. Agents have a bevy of tools at their disposal to turn a potential buyer into a closing. Of course, there are many seminars that you can attend which has everything from psychological ...

I don't know what has changed recently but I have received 3 calls in the past few days from people claiming they saw me as an active member of Active Rain and then proceed to give me their sales pitch. From Lenders, to Title, to fancy gadgets that help get us more customers, it is as if we need ...

Functional Obsolescence is one of my favorite terms in Real Estate. Landlord.com describes it as:Functional Obsolescence: Functional obsolescence occurs when a property loses value due to its architectural design, building style, size, outdated amenities, local economic conditions and changing te...