The swimming pool season is often thought of as going from Memorial Day to Labor Day here in Oklahoma.  But many pool owners are finding that they can open their Oklahoma Swimming pools around April and enjoy them through September or October, depending on the weather.  Before long, many Owasso Oklahoma Swimming Pool owners will be closing their pools.  And when it comes time to close your Owasso Oklahoma Swimming Pool, you'll need a good Owasso Oklahoma Swimming Pool Company. Here in Owasso Oklahoma, we have several excellent swimming pool companies to choose from:  Aquatech Pools & Spas104 East 2nd Avenue (Click for map)Owasso, OK   74055(918) 274-7447www.aquatech.com Fiesta Pools and Spas, LLC8361 N Owasso Expy # BV (Click for map)Owasso, OK  74055(918) 376-2782www.fiestapoolsandspas... 08/13/2010

Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - I just hung up the phone with Gabrielle Rhind.  Both of our mothers have Alzheimer's disease.  Gabrielle wrote a touching blog the other day that caught my attention.  Don't Force It's Better That Way Anyway  I wrote the following blog this past February.  I hope you find it as helpful today as I did then...and still do. Today is a significant day for me.  That's because my dad is bringing my mom home.  This will be the first time since 1977 that mom will be living in Tulsa again.  Dad will soon follow...after he sells the house in Little Rock. Today we are moving mom into a Memory Care Facility.  That's fancy talk for an Alzheimer's secured housing unit.  It's a nice place with memory boxes and beautiful furniture and all that.  But, for me, the stark reali... 08/11/2010

The 2010 school year is about to begin.  And everyone knows what that means, right?  It's time to buy school supplies.  And school clothes too!  I used to dread having to go buy new school clothes, but it seems to be a treat for today's kids.  Back to school also means schedule changes, kids getting up early, homework, football, band practice and lots of others things. But back to school means one more thing that we often forget....until it's too late.  It means SLOW DOWN IN THE OWASSO OKLAHOMA SCHOOL ZONES!  Because Owasso is a fairly easy city to navigate, it can be easy to forget how many Owasso Oklahoma school zones there are in a relatively close area.  Here's a map for an overview of our Owasso Oklahoma school zones. The most important thing to notice on the map of the Owasso Okla... 08/11/2010

Owasso OK Junior High and High School Registration - Owasso OK Elementary School Registration It's August 2010.  The stores are full of school supplies and families gearing up for another school year.  Back to school shopping is in full swing and school enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year is happening now.  Below are the registration dates for the Owasso OK Junior High, High School and Elementary schools. Owasso High School (11-12 Grades)August 10         Senior Schedule Pick Up          August 11         Junior Schedule Pick Up Owasso Mid-High (9-10 Grades)August 6           New students Informational Meeting (For students new to Owasso schools)August 10         Sophomore Schedule Pick UpAugust 11         Freshman Schedule Pick Up        8th Grade CenterAugust 10          Returnin... 08/10/2010

So you want to sell your house.  But open house traffic is slow.  And nobody is making any offers.  And you've reduced the price, maybe once or even twice.  And still nothing.  What is a seller to do?  What are a seller's options in the 2010 Housing Market when it seems like nobody really wants to buy? Sellers must understand that we are in a market correction cycle.  Prices are falling.  Many homes are actually in a devaluation mode right now in our area.  With high unemployment and a shaky economy, buyers are out there, but many are not highly motivated to buy quickly.  J. Philip Faranda, a friend of mine, has written an excellent blog about buyers that is well worth reading. Lurkers, Lookers, and Other People Mom Never Warned Me About Okay, so now that we understand the mindset of bu... 08/09/2010

We're near the end of a long summer here in Oklahoma and it has been scorching hot.  But the days are long, the sun is shining and the home grown tomatoes are in season!  This plate of Oklahoma tomatoes was grown by Diane in our garden.  Each day, we walk out, pick the ones that are ready, bring them in, cut them up and have them with dinner.  Our Oklahoma tomatoes are delicious this year (especially with salt on them!)  We've even taken some of our Oklahoma tomatoes and made fried green tomatoes out of them!  Yummy! 08/08/2010

It isn't very often that a picture here at Active Rain really jumps out at me and makes me want to go see what someone is all about.  That's no offense to any of us.  It's just that there is only so much you can do with a picture, right? But then, this morning, after I got back from showing a house, I came across Brent and Deb Wells.  They had left a comment on one of my blogs.  And when I read their comment, their picture caught my attention.  Now you want to see it right?  Okay, here it is... At first, when you look at the picture you think, "What is he doing?"  Then when you zoom in closer, you see that he's talking on his phone (or pretend talking) while having his picture taken.  I love that!  And look at Deb.  She's got the perfect smile for a Realtor picture.  And yet you just kn... 08/07/2010

Behold the Home Warranty!  Like Superman, it comes rushing in when the hot water blows up or the Air Conditioner is no longer air conditioning.  And although small in cost, it delivers big in savings.  Well...maybe. The home warranty business was unknown to me prior to entering Real Estate way back in 2007.  But it didn't take me very long to learn how it works.  For between $400-$500 you can obtain one of these dandy policies for a whole year. The basics of a home warranty are pretty simple.  A home warranty covers things that your home owners' insurance policy typically doesn't cover.  Got a roof problem?  Call your insurance agent.  Furnace not working?  Call the Home Warranty people. Basic home warranty coverage usually includes the following: Furnace      Plumbing      Electrical S... 07/29/2010

Every now and then you read about someone who poo-poo's Real Estate contracts.  They'll say that the Real Estate contract is just a pre-printed form that Real Estate agents fill out.  And they say that it doesn't take any real training to fill one out and close a Real Estate transaction. But in the words of the great comedian, John Pinette, I say, "Nay, Nay!"  The Real Estate contract, combined with the experience, knowledge and training of the Real Estate Agent successfully represents the interests of both the buyer and seller.  Further, it successfully guides the Real Estate transaction and keeps everything above board. Let me give you an example...  Pretty amazing, huh?  I suspect that there was a day when Real Estate transactions may have happened something like the video.  Everythi... 07/22/2010

My wife, Diane, loves to garden. I do not. She spends hours in the hot sun. I do not. She pulls stubborn weeds. I do not (except for weedy real estate problems!). She say's it is theraputic for her. It is not for me. She loves her veggies and flowers. I do too. And I would say, "I do" to her again today and everyday! This sunflower is currently one of several she has in our garden.  You can see that we had a visitor this morning. If you're ever in Oklahoma, be sure to stop by Owasso and visit Diane and her garden. You'll be glad you did! (And I'll give you something cold to drink too!) 07/18/2010

It was graduation time at Owasso High School.  The year was 1985.  Diane and I and our daughter sat in the auditorium watching and cheering for many of her friends who were graduating. We knew many of these kids because we had been on staff of a large church in our town for several years.  We watched them grow up.  That night Andrew Looney graduated.  I can't say that I knew Andrew.  And I can't even say that I remember specifically when he crossed the stage that night.  I wish I did because Andrew Looney went on to serve America by enlisting in the army. Sgt. Andrew R. Looney was killed by a suicide bomber on June 21 in Afghanistan, from wounds he suffered when a suicide bomber attacked his unit.  On Monday, June 28, a memorial service was schedule for Andrew Looney at the Owasso High ... 07/03/2010

I recently listed a beautiful home in Lake Valley in Owasso, Oklahoma. When I walked into the Master Bathroom, I knew I had a fun loving seller on my hands! The entire rest of the home in Lake Valley is as creative and fun as the Master Bathroom.  Watch for more pictures to come soon of the rest of the Lake Valley home.  One other very special feature of this Lake Valley home is that it is one of two homes on its' side of the street that back to the neighborhood Lake Valley lake (also known as a very large pond - remember...we ARE in Oklahoma!).  Lake Valley is not only a place where you can sit a spell indoors, but you can sit a spell by the lake on a lazy afternoon catching fish! 06/27/2010

Happy Father's Day! Carmel, our beagle is already off to enjoying Father's Day.  She has found her favorite spot on the couch and is off to "La-La" land and sweet dreams of chasing squirrels and rabbits (which she does occasionally catch!).  If I get lucky, I'll be able to grab the spot from her this afternoon and enjoy it myself! 06/20/2010

Buying a home with a pool is an exciting experience.  When we purchased our current home and pool, I couldn't believe that I actually owned a home with an in ground pool.  "How cool is this?" I thought.  And it is cool.  We love our pool, even with the year round maintenance that is required.  It gives our family many hours of fun in our own backyard. However, let me warn new pool owners of something very imporant.  Never, never, never put your hand into your skimmer basket in the dark.  For those of you who are not pool owners, the skimmer basket is this device. A pool skimmer does exactly what it sounds like.  It "skims" or helps to filter grass, leaves and other misc items from the water.  The pool pump draws water through the skimmer and into a basket located there.  The basket catc... 06/19/2010

Being in Real Estate, I often find myself being asked to recommend a painter or electrician or heat and air company or other such services.  Brian Buffini recommends keeping a directory of service providers and making it available, which is a pretty good idea.  So, when I started my first networking group, those in the group became my "go to" people.  But then, after I had made a recommendation to one of the members, they dropped the ball.  This upset the client and made me look bad.  The lesson I learned (after that happened a couple of times) was to keep a recommendation directory, but to be very careful who you recommend.  Today, I only recommend people who I know are reliable.  For example, when I recommend the insurance guy, I know that not only will he make the call, but he will t... 06/16/2010

"Is it Ethical to Walk Away From an Upside Down Mortgage if You Can Afford it?" This question was recently asked here at Active Rain. The blog and comments got me to thinking about ethics in business.  According to dictionary.com, ethics are a set of moral principles or a theory or system of moral values.  In other words, ethics are what guide us in understanding and doing what is right as opposed to what is wrong in life.  And ethics are important because we don't live in a perfect world.  People cheat, lie, steal, make mistakes and then turn around and do good things all day long.  Ethics help assure that we behave appropriately. But now comes the part of ethics that we usually overlook.  Where do you get your ethics from?  Where did you get your ideas of what is right and what is wro... 06/14/2010

Nottingham Hill is a new subdivision being developed in Owasso, Oklahoma.  The 1/4 acre average sized lots are offered at $68-$82K.  This private gated community will offer homes that are at least 3000 square foot in size and that are 75% brick, rock or stucco.  Nottingham Hill has room for only 58 lots, including Nottingham lake (really a pond) shown here. Yesterday was one of those few, non windy, clear days when the sky was blue and the reflections off the pond lake were gorgeous!  I took this picture while standing in what will be someone's backyard in Nottingham Hill in Owasso one day. 06/13/2010

The offer was almost $20K below asking price.  And yet, we had priced the home appropriately.  The buyer's agent even sent comps along with the offer.  But they weren't any comps I had ever seen or presented to my sellers.  I've seen this happen before. In an effort to support their lowball offer, a buyer's agent will go find comps that support their number.  However, these comps are almost always out of the neighborhood or altered in someway or other to show the lowball number.  Sure enough, in this case, the comps came from all over the place.  So I did what I always do.  I ran the neighborhood comps again.  Sure enough, the price per square foot was closer to the asking price than it was to the offered price.  So now we have a typical problem in the world of real estate.  The buyers ... 06/11/2010

Speechless Sunday - What's Missing? Tomorrow is Memorial Day.  It is a day set aside to honor those military veterans who fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy.  Wouldn't it be great if, no matter where we are at tomorrow, everyone took a few moments to honor those brave men and women who served and died for our freedoms? It is a shame that too often we are the ones who are missing in action when it comes to Patriotism and love of country.  The freedoms we enjoy were given to us at the very highest price - the loss of someone Else's life. So, no matter what your plans are on Memorial Day, take an intentional moment to shut down the party, silence the music, turn off the boat motor, pull the kids out of the pool and to thank those who have made this day (and all days) of freedom pos... 05/30/2010

Good old Microsoft.  They've been a part of the world of computers almost since the beginning.  And I have been a rabid fan and user...as most of us have. In the early days, there was only Microsoft to pick from.  Oh sure, there were those funny Apple computers, but everybody knew Apple wasn't going to be around for very long.  So buying one of those things wasn't an option for me. And besides there was Windows.  Yes it was curmudgeonly, but it was sort of cool.  It was better than DOS anyway.  And Windows kept getting better through the years and the revisions.  And then Office came along and it was SO much better than anything else that had been on the market up to that point.  You could now do word processing and spreadsheets and databases and it was great! Fast forward to today.  Ap... 05/29/2010