Judith Abbott's (judithabbott) Blog

I had another on-the -job injury this week, a real-estate-agent-specific kind of injury.  Fortunately this one was more of an embarrassment than it was actual injury.  Deep in thought, I turned around and walked straight into a low-hanging light fixture.  Wopped myself in the head with a solid br...

Part of my standard list of questions for a first time home buyer is to ask if they have considered buying a full duplex.  Buying a full duplex is a very practical alternative to the standard, stand alone single-family home.  A full duplex is another approach to the Great American Dream of Home O...

Beginning tomorrow, September 8, it will be possible to sign up to potentially get free tickets to local theater events. http://www.freenightdallas.com   It is a lottery.  Not everyone who asks for the tickets will get them.  There is a two week window for people to sign up before the lottery beg...

The office computer desktop wallpaper tends to be an afterthought sent our way by Corporate.  Most of the spring, it was an ad for a company-wide production competition.  The contest ended in May but the wallpaper continued well into August.  Corporate changed out the wallpaper several weeks ago....

The easy part of Customer Service is talking about it.  It is harder to remember to keep that smile in your voice at all times.  Today has been a Customer Service Themed day.  One of the things that happened today was that I got to cancel two services that were those automatic deductions from my ...

Warning:  I don't know what I am talking about here.  I am simply repeating what I am being told.  I don't have any reason to disbelieve what I am being told, I just haven't seen the ordinances in print to confirm my understanding.  Perhaps someone who ACTUALLY knows about this stuff will weigh i...

  The hard and fast reality of real estate is that ultimately, all value is in the land value.  Improvements are constantly declining in value.  If the property owner isn't continuously improving, updating, maintaining, replacing and repairing their home, the condition of the property will fall s...

I have closed a fair number of cash deals in the last 12 months.  In every case, I have had to explain to the Buyer that their being able to write a check at closing is just one factor for the Seller to consider.  Old School Real Estate Think was that Cash Is King.  Cash is useful.  Cash can get ...

  One of the recurring puzzlement I experience is the public perception that all real estate agents make the big bucks.  The National Association of Realtors 2010 statistics indicate otherwise.  See blog posting set out below. The average for the Metroplex?  In 2010, 13,000 agents sold a total of...

If shopping is your favorite recreational sport, then move to Dallas!  They revoked our Amateur Shopper Status years ago.  Dallas in on the Pro Circuit of Shopping. Do you like Mall Shopping?  There are at least 21 malls in the metroplex with more than 250,000 leasable square footage of space.  W...