Sharing the Misery

The real estate market right now is not a lot of fun. By that I mean that I’m seeing a lot of behaviors out of buyers and sellers that have me scratching my head. Another agent mentioned to me the other day that she’s starting to lose faith in humanity based on some of the garbage that she’s seen and dealt with this year. I was glad to hear that I’m not the only one

We Buy Houses Too

This story continues my fascination with the “We Buy Houses” signs throughout the region. My first attempt to reach out to one of these buyers did not go as expected – it was far more successful. I decided to call on one of the handwritten signs, though it was one that seemed fancier than some of the others, if that’s possible. It seemed more like a one-off than the type of sign that gets plastered

100 Years of Inflation

As part of our home’s 100 year birthday celebration, we learned that the original cost to build the structure in 1911 was $8,000. Starting with that data point, I tried to do some figurin’ to see how much that is in today’s dollars. Doing the calculation in my head was a very bad idea. Without actually thinking about it very much, I jumped to the conclusion that the $8,000 was “like a million bucks” in

A Little Truth in Advertising, Please

Dear Listing Agent, Thanks for getting us in to see your listing last night. My client and I appreciate it. We were excited to see the home. Based on your description and photos, it sounded like it might work for her. Unfortunately when we got to the house it was not really what the description and pictures portrayed. Now, I’m all for taking pictures that highlight the best features of a home. But there is

We Buy Houses

I see signs all over town advertising for people, or companies, that are willing to buy homes. There is a great diversity in the type of signs. The two examples here highlight some key decisions that go into creating the signs: 1. Do I get it printed, or do I write it by hand? 2. Do I spring for a toll-free number, or stick with a local number? 3. Do I mention cash? Most signs