What?! My Roof Has No Soffits?! Your first question might be: "What is a soffit?" followed by: "Who cares if my roof has soffits?". As it pertains to most roofs, the soffit is the underside of the eaves, which is the portion of the roof which overhangs the walls of the building. An important purpose of the soffit is that it plays a key role in the attic ventilation system. If you have been in an attic in summer, then you know how hot it can get.  A ventilation system allows for the attic to cool down so that it makes the house easier to keep cool and it prevents heat build up which could shorten the life of the shingles.  In the winter, this is important because it prevents the snow and ice which form on the roof from melting and refreezing and working its way under the shingles, which ... 01/17/2018

Will You Be Too Late? When it comes to financial investments, most people are followers.  Very few people are good predictors of what any given market will do before it happens. If the stock market is performing well, then they switch their investments to the stock market. If the real estate market starts to appreciate, then they invest in real estate. Over the long term, most investment markets such as the stock market and the real estate market appreciate.  This statement does not take into consideration things such as inflation, jobs and wages, affordability indices, and so on. Over short terms, these markets can see drastic swings upwards and downwards. The last time that the stock market and the real estate markets saw drastic spikes upward, it caught most people off guard when, as... 01/12/2018

Real Estate Relocation Services Whether you are relocating locally, nationwide, or worldwide, Ron Trzcinski with Century 21, The Real Estate Centre can help you with your move.  Locally, we have six offices strategically located throughout Central Maryland so that you can be helped anywhere around Greater Baltimore or the MD suburbs of DC.  Nationally, the Century 21 network can be utilized to find an agent for you throughout the country.  Worldwide, the Century 21 global network can be utilized to assist you.  You can, also, be put in touch with one of our lending partners to get you preapproved for a loan before you even set out in search of your next home.  It is hard enough trying to adjust to a different region, a new job, another school system, and other things, so it only makes s... 01/09/2018

New Home Site Marketing With Century 21, The Real Estate Centre, Ron Trzcinski can provide invaluable marketing to home builders that can accelerate the sales of the homes in their developments.  Of course, it starts with the basic marketing of placing the homes on the Multiple List Service (MLS).  Once it is placed on the MLS, it automatically uploads to hundreds of web sites, including those of most of the major brokerages in the area.  It, also, goes out to the major home search sites such as zillow, trulia, realtor, Century 21, and a few more.  Additionally, a web site can be designed for each model that the builder is offering, along with a web site for the development itself.  These specific web sites may include up to 60 photos, can be narrated, and can even include background mu... 01/09/2018

Don't Let Sh*t Get In The Way I know someone who used to work as a janitor for a night club.  He would be there when the club had just closed for the night and would be responsible, with another individual, for cleaning the club, including the rest rooms. After a long night in a busy night club, the rest rooms can get quite raunchy with various human discharges. It is not a welcoming sight for someone who wants to use it, for someone who simply looks at it, and especially for someone whose job it is to clean it. Mops, buckets, towels, cleaners, and such all to remove scum and smells. It sounds disgusting however, the one janitor was amazed at how fast the other janitor could get the rest rooms clean.  The walls, the floors, the toilets, and so on were all sparkling clean within ten minu... 01/08/2018

Even "Trivial" Jobs Can Be Important At one time there was a job called gas station attendant.  The person in this job was responsible for pumping the gas for the customers and if needed, or requested, for checking their oil or washing their windows and for collecting the money.  Most of these tasks are now done by the customer, with the exception of occasionally collecting the money from those customers who do not have a credit or a debit card. It was not a high level job and it was not a high paying job, which could lead one to not take it extremely seriously. A person that I know, once held this position.  He was explaining how he could have multiple cars, sometimes 5 or 6, going at once.  If a car was getting a fill up, then the pump would automatically shut off when the tank was fu... 01/08/2018

Accomplish Your Goals Is this the year?Is it time that you finally accomplish your goals?Of course, you can say: Rah, Rah, Yes, it is!And, that will get you nowhere.Alternatively, you can see what Nettie has to say.That's right. Nettie Owens has tirelessly studied the topic of getting things done and she is ready to help you.Check it out; give her a call and talk about it. http://www.sappariconsulting.com/launch2018.html  01/04/2018

Networking: Make It About Others, Not Just Yourself There was a networking group to which I belonged.  We would meet on a weekly basis.  At each meeting we would go around the group twice.  On the first time around, we would each briefly state who we were and what our product or service was.  On the second time around, we would each talk about what business we were looking to obtain perhaps by stating a particular organization, or an industry, or a type of company that would be a good partner for us. One week, the leader of the group suggested a slight change to our routine.  Instead of introducing yourself and talking about what business that each of us wanted, he asked us to introduce the person seated next to us. We managed to make our way through this exercise but not without some d... 01/01/2018

To Be or Not To Be Indeed, that is the question: to be or not to be. Let's take a look at some examples. This houses needs renovated.  An alternative to this sentence is as follows.  This house needs to be renovated. Here are some more examples which show the two different sentence structures. The exterior of this house needs painted.The exterior of this house needs to be painted. The cow needs milked.The cow needs to be milked. The baby needs fed.The baby needs to be fed. I have heard people say these things both ways.  Either way, I understood what they meant. Personally, I believe that the words to be are necessary in these sentences.  What do you think? 12/24/2017

Satisfied Again If I make the transaction about my client, then my client will be satisfied.  It's a basic philosophy, but it works every time. "I knew from previous experience that he was the right person to meet my needs. He went above and beyond the call of duty! The buyer’s agent was a very difficult person to deal with. Ron's advice on how to deal with him was very helpful. Ron also helped with finding workmen to take care of last minute repairs at reasonable prices. Since I was out of town, he actually set up appointments with the workmen and saw to it that the work was done properly."  12/13/2017

The Premier Agent Never Called I have a listing and as is the case with all of my listings, it was borrowed by zillow so that they could advertise it on their web site. An interested potential buyer saw my listing on zillow and decided to inquire about it. Instead of contacting me directly, the potential buyer contacted a "premier" agent whose name and face were right next to my listing. Zillow, being a considerate organization, sent me an email stating that an inquiry had been made to a premier agent about my listing. I have the agents name, so I could call him, but I thought I would just see what would happen if I did not take that initiative. The premier agent never called to make an appointment or to ask about the property. There was enough information borrowed by zillow and availab... 12/13/2017

Selling a Home in Winter  Many people wait until spring to put their homes on the market, but this is not always the best way to get the highest price for a home. In the spring when the market is flooded with homes, the prices tend to stay steady or come down slightly because buyers have more homes from which to choose. Alternatively, when a home is placed on the market during the winter months, there are fewer homes from which to choose, which tends to force prices upward. Also, a buyer looking to buy in the winter months is likely to be a more serious buyer, which is demonstrated by the simple fact that he or she is searching during the colder part of the year. Two other factors which could force prices down in the spring are mortgage interest rates and tax deductible portions of the ... 12/12/2017

What is Your Goal When Renovating a Kitchen? Are the following goals considered when you renovate a kitchen?  Replace older and less efficient appliances with newer energy efficient appliances. Add appliances which were not previously included such as a dishwasher, a microwave, or a garbage disposal. Create more cabinet space. Make room for a table or an island. Create more counter top space to make cooking easier.  or are your goals simply: to install more modern cabinets, counter tops, floors, and perhaps stainless steel appliances. The last goal is important, because aesthetics make us feel better and they make it more appealing to prospective buyers. As important as the last goal is, without the other goals, the renovation certainly is not worth as much as it otherwise would be. 11/25/2017

Mortgage Interest Rates are still relatively low.    FHA: 3.75%VA: 3.875% Conventional: 4.00% Jumbo: 4.125% USDA Rural Housing: 4:00%  They may vary a little from lender to lender, but this is about what you can get as of November 20, 2017. So, if you are thinking of buying a house, then this is an affordable time to do it. 11/20/2017

Market Your Product in Your Own Post, Not Mine We come up with topics of interest, topics to discuss, topics which through discussion can move the profession forward. When I create a post, I expect and welcome comments.  When I receive comments, or even just likes, it shows me that I am writing about things which are of interest to others.  The comments let me know if I am on target or off base with my thoughts.  Exchanging thoughts on any given topic can only benefit each and every one of us.  This is one of the main ideas behind Active Rain. However, if you put a comment on my post, a comment which is completely unrelated to the topic, a comment which is intended to sell your product, then I will promptly delete such comment. I have no problem with other people's products and services... 11/06/2017

Is a Finished Basement a Good Thing? It was a different time, but when I was a kid, our unfinished basement served many purposes, which today's finished basements would only partially fulfill. The house came with tiled floors and, yes, Dad did enclose, with Knotty Pine, the toilet which otherwise just sat in the open, but otherwise our basement was unfinished. Of course, one part of the basement included the utilities, such as the furnace and the water heater.  I have learned from being in the business, that if these items had been walled off, that if not properly ventilated, could cause a problem whereby carbon monoxide could be sucked back into the house through the flue pipe. Another portion of the basement was for the washer and dryer and wash tub.  As long as the floor was tiled, t... 11/04/2017

If You Say Nothing, Then What is the Point? You must be on the internet.  We were told this 10 years ago, 20 years ago. A person or a company creates a website, which may even have several pages, but nothing is stated beyond a heading for each page. A person or a company goes onto an existing website such as linkedin, alignable, or active rain, but they give no information other than their name. I was on alignable today and several companies had recently signed up to the site, but all that I could find was their name.  The intent of this site is for companies to connect so that they can do business together or refer business to each other, but why would anyone want to connect with people or businesses which have stated nothing about themselves? No one uses the yellow pages anymore, but,... 11/01/2017

20% Down Payment? Do you need a 20% down payment to purchase a home? No! It is true that you can put 20% down when purchasing a home and this will help you to avoid paying a mortgage insurance premium in every monthly payment, but it is not required in order for you to get a mortgage loan. For a VA loan, which, basically, is available to military veterans, the borrower needs no down payment. For a FHA loan, which is popular with first time buyers, but not limited to first time buyers, the down payment is 3.5% of the purchase price.  However, there are several programs available which can take care of this down payment, such that the borrower would need nothing out of pocket for the down payment. For many conventional loans, the borrower can get a loan with a down payment equal to 5% of ... 10/31/2017

She's Happy, So I'm Happy If you give a real estate agent a chance, then any skepticism that you may have had about real estate agents, most likely will change.  Real estate agents are professionals; they are your fiduciaries; and they must live up to a high ethical standard. "I was impressed with Ron Trzcinski on his very first call to me and his subsequent visit to the home. He was very genuine and sincere. I knew that he would work his hardest for us. And subsequently, he proved me right by always going above and beyond.Ron presented himself very professionally and was extremely thorough and clear in his communications with us as well as prospective buyers. He was extremely knowledgeable regarding all aspects of the realty business. He was very patient and helpful with my unending qu... 10/27/2017

Did You Call the Agent Who Just Sold a Home Down the Street? You just listed a house and you need a buyer. It is on the multiple list and all over the internet. You have a sign in front of the house, with brochures, or a link to the listing. If another agent has a buyer who wants a house like yours, then they will make an appointment to see your listing. What else do you need to do? You could send out a mass email, tweet about it, and so on. But is it worthwhile to contact the agent who sold the house down the street or on a nearby street? Since this agent just sold a house in the same neighborhood, it is likely that more than one person contacted the agent about that house.  Obviously only one of those buyers could buy that listing, so that agent should have the names of several other ... 10/23/2017