I Want My Computer!

It sucks not having a computer at your fingertips at all times. I sent many years without one and now I can't remember a time when I didn't have one. Anyway, you all know my computer died a few weeks ago. Dell asures me a new one will be here next week. Actually they sent a new one but it was so big it was like having a desktop so I asked for a smaller one. Why am I mentioning this you ask? Because it makes it hard for me to post on my blog on a regular basis so forgive me if I go several days without anything new.

I was at a commnity event last night and someone asked me if the housing market was taking a dive. No, the housing market isn't taking a dive, it's simply coming up for air. Here's what's happening and what it means to you if you're planning on buying or selling a home in the coming months. Quite frankly, sellers have enjoyed the party too long. Pricing houses to levels that have been unbelievable has taken its toll on buyers and buyers are now saying, I'm not paying that for that. The market is leveling off a bit and getting to the level that it should be. The truth is, a good house, priced right will sell in no time. A good house priced too high will sit for a while and as we get into the holidays and the winter months, that house will sit even longer. What does it mean to sellers? Price your house to sell! Do a little work on it to improve the value (don't do too much) but price it to move if you need a quick sale. If you can afford to wait, expect that it may sit 3-4 months if it's priced too high. The market will tell you fairly quickly how much your house is worth (it's worth what someone will pay).
Now, what does this all mean for buyers? More choices! You have more inventory and more houses to look at and you have greater opportunities to stay within your budget. Think about what you need, what you want, and what you wish you could have in a house. If you have a list that has 10 things on it and you get seven, that's pretty good. Buy it! It may be there next week, it may not be and if it isn't you'll kick yourself for losing it and you'll compare everything else to it. I've said it before. Be ready to buy if you're thinking about it. Get your pre-approval from your lender. Think about what you want and what neighborhoods, call me and begin your search. If you need help finding a lender, give me a call.
The new head of the Feds thinks the market is still good too so that's good news. Owning a home is the American Dream. Live it!
Have a great Halloween, be safe and don't eat too many treats.

Anybody out there?

It's been a while since I've written anything. Sorry about that but my computer crashed into a black wall last weekend and has yet to recover. In fact it will never recover and Donna's having Dell send me a new one right away. It never really worked properly in the first place so we can make the case for a new one without much argument from them. Although Donna is extremely good at getting people to do the right thing. In the meantime, I've lost every document that I've created over this past year and everything else that was on the computer including all pictures of homes that I've sold, graduation ceremonies and lots of other things. When I worked in the private sector someone else always backed up my files so it never occurred to me to do it at home. I've learned that lesson the hard way. Anyway, it's had me a little bummed and of course the weather isn't helping.
Lots of news over the last few days. President Bush is bracing for more bad news. The Post calls it the dark days of the White House. The Redskins stomped the 49ers 52-17 (did you see that?), and Tom is getting ready for his big Halloween bash. You neighborhood folks know who Tom is and look forward to the big bash. I still have no idea what I'm wearing but I'll come up with something.
Rosa Parks died yesterday too. I often wonder how different our lives would be today if Rosa Parks hadn't done what she did, or if MLK and Bobby and John hadn't been killed. What do you think our world would be like? Send me your thoughts.
Stay dry and warm. Take care

Darn, I have to keep working

Checked my numbers this morning and of course I didn't win the big Powerball jackpot! I didn't have one correct number. Darn, I have to keep working I guess. I have to continue to work hard to help people buy and sell homes. Speaking of that, if you haven't bought something already, now is a great time. Why?
1. There's more inventory. More homes mean you have more choices. You have a greater chance of finding the home of your dreams. Remember if you find the home of your dreams, put a contract on it. Don't pass it up hoping you'll see something else you'll like better (chances are you won't). You'll compare every house you see after that to the "one that got away."
2. Prices are coming down a bit. Not much, but a bit. At the same time, though, interest rates are going up a bit. It probably evens out in the end. Bottom line, if you're thinking about buying a new home, go on and do it before rates go up too much and inventory goes down.
Remember, when you're ready to buy or sell, keep me in mind.
I'm headed to the 5th District police awards dinner tonight. Donna, our neighbor Aubrey and I are going to support other neighbors receiving awards as well as police officers who work to keep our neighborhood a decent place to live. That's a tough job for them and they do the best they can and they deserve our support. When you see a police officer today, tell him or her to keep up the good work.
Saw a good movie at Reel Affirmation over the weekend, Fingersmith, from the woman who wrote Tipping the Velvet. Very good movie, long but good. Go see one of the movies this week.
Anyway, got to run. Enjoy the rest of your day.

300 million ways

You still have a few hours to get your Powerball ticket if you haven't already done so by now. It's up to $300 million (maybe more by now, it was $300 million when I bought my ticket 5 hours ago). I don't play the lottery very often, maybe three times a month. They always say you have a greater chance of being struck by lightning then to win so I don't play much. Three hundred million is a lot. What would I do with all that cash?
Things to do the day after winning Powerball
1. Call my financial adviser Carol to discuss my portfolio
2. Call my travel agent to book the trip to Australia, Italy, Paris, Rome, the Olivia cruise and anywhere else I'm hankering to visit
3. Put Powerball ticket in safe deposit box
4. Take Donna to Providence Hospital to recover from the fainting spell she'll have when I tell her I, I mean, we won the Powerball
5. Buy that bottle of Dom that I've always wanted (what's a lousy $150 when you have $300 million to spend).
Things to do when I receive the winnings
1. Give 10% to my church Unity of Washington, DC
2. Take a health spa break
3. Go shopping, buy new clothes, new car, new houses (one in Canada, one in Fla. and other in Rehoboth) new big screen tv, new body, whatever as long as it's new
4. Drink that bottle of Dom and buy a case if I like it
5. Go back to my home town, with my new car, new clothes and new body and see as many of those high school folks who treated me like dirt( we all can relate to that I'm sure)
6. Buy a bigger house for my sister and her new grandbabies and get her some help
It's nice to dream. If you don't hear from me for a while you'll know I'm busy with my to do list. What would you do with $300 million?

Random thoughts, random things

I'm here in my home office doing some work on getting my real estate systems in place. Have a systematic way of doing things is the life blood of the real estate business and I'm struggling a bit to find something that works for me, that fits my personality. When I worked in PR one of my first bosses always got on me about having a systematic approach to reaching the media. I hated that so I think I'm struggling because it reminds me too much of the old boss and the old job. Anyway, what I'm trying to do is figure out a way to have all my contacts, projects, sales, and closings in one place so that I'm not constantly re-inventing the wheel. There's software for that and I'm working now to learn it. As our president sometimes says.."it's hard, it's hard work."
Speaking of the president, have you seen the latest job approval rating for him? It's somewhere in the 30s. That's not good. He's struggling too. I think the war is really becoming more of a problem. I wish we would just be done with it. I don't think it's a good idea to try to force our beliefs on other people. Not everyone wants to live in a democracy. I feel so sorry for all those families who have lost loved ones because of the war. I'm sure Bush feels sorry too.
In my weekly sales meeting this week, my manager talked about the changing market. I mentioned this last week. The one thing that seems to keep coming up though is the fact that sellers haven't caught on yet that the market is shifting and buyers aren't willing to pay the outrageous prices that sellers want for their homes. I've told you before, your house is only worth what someone will pay for it. If you're thinking about selling your home, remember, pricing it too high will ensure two things..that it will sit on the market longer and it will help sell the house down the street that's priced more reasonably. Ironically a lot of the sellers who are asking outrageous prices for their homes, don't owe a lot so whatever they get over that is a whole lot of gravy.
Got pictures of my new nephews today. I'm not used to the blog technology but I'll try to post them so you can see. They are so cute! I can't wait to go to Miss. for Thanksgiving so I can see them. It's been a while since we've had babies in the house. My sister, bless her heart, is absolutely exhausted but she loves her new grands.
Anyhoo, the weekends coming. Donna's daughter's coming, Reel Affirmation is coming. It's going to be a busy weekend. Enjoy!

Short week

Had a really great weekend. While yesterday was a holiday for many, I was working so I made sure I took time off on Sunday. Donna and I got away from the house overnight and went to the Hotel Monaco downtown. We've got company coming this week (Donna's daughter, sister and nephew) so she thought it would be good for us to get away for some alone time ( good idea). I've been so cranky lately so it really was a good idea. Anyway, we stayed in one of their suites. It was a nice room with a wonderful jacuzzi tub. It was nice to relax. We watched the game, the Redskins lost :((, and we just enjoyed being away from any responsibilities. I sometimes say I would love to be child so I wouldn't have any responsibilities.
If you haven't stayed at the Hotel Monaco before, I'd say do it soon because something's up there. First, our room wasn't ready at 3:00 p.m. as it was supposed to be so we had to so next door to watch the start of the game, we didn't get into our room until 5. They seemed to be short staffed so I'm wondering if something is going on there. It's a nice chain, we've stayed at the one in San Francisco and had a great time. The DC one missed the mark with us and I think they knew it ( they sent us a bottle of Merlot with dinner and we got a free night's stay). It's great to get away though, even if it is only 10 minutes from your house.

Check out the new issue of DC North. I have an ad running in it this month. It's on page 14. Thanks to Scott Roberts of the Bloomingdale listserv for including it in today's e-mail.

I have another closing this week. So far things are going smoothly. I never get happy about one of these until it is done and all signatures are on every document. It's a process though and it can take a while but my job is to make it as painless as possible. It's so much fun though.
Enjoy your day and the rest of the short week. Remember, you can rest when you die.

I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore

As you all know, I live in the Bloomingdale part of town, some people call it Eckington too. Anyhow, it's a great old neighborhood with lots of old homes. My house was built in 1895! I think that's really cool.
Recently, however, the neighborhood has been dealing with a criminal element that wants to destroy our quality of life and take us back to the days when the city was not fit to live. Unfortunately, our political leaders don't seem to have the political will to do anything about. Well, it's time for all of us living in this neighborhood and others neighborhoods who are experiencing the same thing, to stand up and take back our neighborhoods. Why do we live here in the first place. We're here because we love the things that the city has to offer. Our quality of life should not be threatened because some no account idiots with nothing else to do, want to rob, mug, shoot and whatever else to us in our neighborhood. They contribute nothing to society, they leech off of everyone and everything.
On the Bloomingdale listserv yesterday, one of our neighbor wrote an open letter about the problem of crime and how it impacts our quality of life. I urge all of you to use that letter to come up with your own so you can send it in to all the papers--the Washington Post, the Times, Hill Rag, DC North, East of the River, the City Paper-- to put pressure on our elected officials to do something. We have to make them understand that this affects them as well, not just us. Once you send it to the papers, also cc the mayor and the city council and then send it to all the TV stations. Politicians pay attention when the media are interested. I also think we should organize a take back our neighborhood month to get the police chief, the mayor and the city council on record about what they will do to end this senseless behavior. As the letter from the listserv says, let the memorable line from the movie Network be our rallying cry, we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore.

Location is everything

This is information from my newsletter that I thought I would include on my blog fyi. If you would like to get the newsletter on a monthly basis, please send me your e-mail address.

Content provided by the Gooder Group:
It's a maxim in real estate that the three most crucial factors in selecting a house are "location, location, location." It's also true! No matter how wonderful the house is, the location is key to how well you'll like living in it and how well it sells when you're ready to move on. Before you buy, carefully check the following factors to be sure the house you like is really the one you want to live in.
Consider destinationsWhere will family members go most often from this new location? How easy is it to reach those places from the house? How accessible are schools, churches, grocery stores, medical care, public transportation, shopping malls and emergency services?
Be sure rooms have a viewWhat is the view from the house and yard? Is the yard right for your anticipated activities? What uses are possible for nearby undeveloped land? Is a new road or commercial development planned?
Check around the clock Is rush hour traffic a problem? What will be the impact of special events such as local high-school games or church picnics? Crash test the driveway. How easy is it to get into and out of the driveway?
Be service conscious. What utilities serve the property? Are the rates competitive? Do you want an all-electric house, or do you want gas or oil heat? Where will you get your mail? Are there any easements?
Dig below the surfaceIs the soil stable? Is part of the property on a flood plain? If so, what is the history of floods on the property and what would flood insurance cost?
Visit the neighborsHow will you fit in with the neighbors? Do people seem to be friendly? Are houses well-maintained?
Read the fine printIf the community has special by-laws or architectural controls over changes to a house, what are the pros and cons?
Make a list of the positive and negative aspects of each property as you tour it. Assign priorities to important elements of the house's location.

If you have questions about a home's location, I can help. Call or e-mail me now.

Change the channel please

My partner and I wake up every morning to music or the radio, the music is on my side, the radio is on her side. The past couple of days her radio has been tuned to C-Span radio. It's not a good thing first thing in the morning. Lately the discussion has been centered around the Supreme Court nominee. We both get so irritated by debate about whether it's a good idea to have someone on the court who wears their religious beliefs on their sleeves. Our president does and I'm afraid Ms. Meirs is the same way. This is America and we live here because we're free to be who we are and live as we choose. I'm just wondering if anyone in the White House or Congress has read the words that are enshrined around the walls of the Capitol, words from our founding fathers. If you ever have the chance, it's interesting reading. I'm changing the channel now so our blood pressure doesn't go up any more.

In our weekly sales meeting yesterday, the discussion focused on the changing market and how we should deal with it. What does a changing market mean for you if you're buying or selling a home? What is a changing market? Basically what it means is there will be more houses available so if you're selling you don't want to price your home too aggressively (overprice) and if you're buying, you have more to choose from (a greater supply). Whether buying or selling, this is still a good time and a good market, however. And the market isn't changing that much.

Saw a really good movie over the weekend, In Her Shoes. Funny and sad but likeable characters. Movies suck these days so it's nice when one comes along that you can enjoy. It starts this weekend so go see it.
Enjoy your day.

Five things I like about me

If you're like me, you are hard pressed to come up with five things you like about yourself but I thought I would try it just to see if I could actually do it.
1. I'm a person of my word, if I say I'm going to do something, I do it. This is an important quality to have in the real estate world.
2. I'm organized. Although if you saw my office you might wonder about that. I know where everything is in that big pile of papers on my desk, really, I do.
3. I cry at the drop of a hat. I used to see this as a weakness but the truth is, it shows that I am compassionate.
4. I love cartoons. Anyone who can enjoy a good cartoon is someone who doesn't take themselves or life too seriously. You have be able to laugh. My favorite cartoons are Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner. I also like Batman (not to laugh but because it's good versus evil and good wins every time). One of my fondest memories of my mom is of us spending a Sat. morning together stretched out across her bed watching Bugs Bunny. We were laughing up a storm. It was a special moment. Thinking about it makes me cry even now.
5. I'm a good listener. That's something I've learned to be better at over the years. One of the first long-time realtors I met when I first started told me the one thing you have to do is listen. It's hard to do because we always want to jump ahead to tell what we think, give our opinion. Listening is an art.
Can you come up with five things you like about yourself? Give it a try and share what you come up with.
In real estate news, there's continued talk about the bubble. We aren't there yet and probably won't be. But if you're worried, think about doing a few things to protect your investment (if you own a home, if you don't own one, buy one soon!). Pay down your high interest credit card debt (and don't get into any more). Greenspan and Co. will continue to raise interest rates and your credit card debt will continue to go up. Fix your house interest rate if you have an ARM or an interest only loan. If you have one of them you've noticed you've been paying more every month. That will continue so refinance now if possible. If you have a home equity line of credit use it for emergencies or to reinvest in something else. And finally, save more. How much of your money goes to savings? If you're like most folks, not much. Americans don't save much. Save at least 10% each pay period. And if you believe in the laws of the universe, you'll also give away 10% to a favorite charity. Anyway, there are so many things you can do to ensure that you and your family have a secure financial future that doesn't include eating dog food (as my financial adviser tells clients who won't follow her advice). I'll try to give you suggestions that have worked for me.
Now for the rest of the news...
Is anyone else outraged by comments last week from William Bennett? There is no context for what he said, nothing makes it right and no one should be defending it. For him to say what he said to make a point about what impact abortion would have on Social Security is just wrong. And as a former journalist, I'm so sick and tired of journalists, pretending to be objective, sounding like they had their daily briefing from the WH and are using the talking points for the day. One so-called journalist for Fox sounds like that so often these days. He should just go to work for the WH.
Anyway, I'm off to the office. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day. Remember, you can rest when you die.

I haven't had my coffee yet

If you're like me, you have a morning routine and if you don't follow it, your whole day is thrown off. I usually get up every morning around 6:30 or so and go downstairs and fix a pot of coffee. I'm the only one in the house who drinks it so I can have a good two cups before anyone even thinks about getting up. Donna loves the smell, hates the taste. Kevin drinks Diet Coke instead. The past couple of mornings, this one included, I've been too busy to have my coffee and my days have been a little off.
Overall, it was a good week though. I had a closing on Thursday. My client was very pleased and everything went smoothly. It took an hour to complete and she signed more papers than Rock Creek Park has trees. That's what happens when you buy a home. Lenders have so many forms for you to sign, it's amazing.
I'm getting more calls from people wanting to list their homes. I don't know why but for some reason this time of the year always brings more houses on the market. Maybe it's because all those people who put off selling over the summer realize that they have to do something before the end of the year. Most folks don't want to look at houses when there's snow on the ground. Although, those that do are truly serious, not just kicking the tires. Selling your home can be an emotional thing and people often struggle with it. There's a lot of work involved in simply getting it ready. There's also the issue of getting rid of things or deciding what to keep or give away. Usually by the time they call me, they truly are ready because they've thought about it for months.
There's a lot of talk about what the economy is doing and how that will affect the home buying/selling process. Hurricane Katrina brought several of the economic indicators down, such as consumer spending. I think spending will rebound though because the Gulf Coast will start rebuilding. You can't keep a Ragin Cajun down. Consumers will feel more confident in the coming weeks, especially as we near the holiday season. Can you believe the holiday season is nearing?

BTW, I'm a new grand-aunt. My niece Terra gave birth to her first child, and my sister's fourth grandchild, last night. Miles Houston and his mom are doing great. I can't wait to get down to Miss. to see them. My other niece, Ayanna (Terra's sister), had a baby boy in May, Justus Horatio, so we have two new additions to the family. Both my nieces named their boys after their grandfathers. My father's name was Horatio and my brother-in-law's father was named Houston. That's such a wonderful tribute to two great men. It makes me cry.
I'm going to go get some coffee now. Enjoy your day and remember you can rest when you die.