78% of U.S. Homeowners Describe Home as the BEST Investment They Ever Made

In the previous post NAR's Lawrence Yun announces that home ownership os not for everyone, Trulia releases a blog post: 78% of U.S. Homeowners Describe Home as the BEST Investment They Ever Made

NAR Chief Economist Releases Podcast 2-8-2011

On February 8, 2011 NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun released a podcast discussing the problems in the world (Egypt) and further, addressing how they're expected to impact the US economy, this year and into the future. In closing he says: Home ownership, it's not for everyone....

And I think the inevitable has arrived; indeed, home ownership is NOT for everyone. Trying to put every American who wanted a home into a home, so they could live: The American Dream, created not the whole economic crises, but certainly a huge portion of it.

But don't take my word for it, here is Lawrence Yun, listen to the February 8th podcast.

Showing Property -- A Safety Measure

Never go out with a client you don't feel safe with. That said, a chat with a REALTOR reminded me this morning that REALTORS will need to take extra measures to be safe out there this year. And here's an affordable solution. Moby! see: moby for realtors www.mymoby.com - your personal safety service Preset Moby to give you a call at a specified time. Program your smart phone to be really smart -- and safe. Best of all, the Lite plan is free. To give your friends or family a call, to let them know something could be wrong... no charge. 24/7 security monitoring less than $10.00 a month. So, be safe and be smart and at least have a look at Moby. No charge!

Good Pictures and Virtual Tours Help Sell Homes in Today’s Market | RISMedia

This RISMedia piece, has a lot of photographer's tips in it, and has a link to a Virtual Tour firm I saved a link to this morning from Kim Komando's newsletter. Good Pictures and Virtual Tours Help Sell Homes in Today’s Market RISMedia

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/February-Copy-Due.html?soid=1102382229068&aid=J0SiXCumwv4

The Real Estate Book of the Southern Foothills of North Carolina

Ad copy is due Tuesday, February 1, 2010. In this month's newsletter you'll find that and more.

Hey - Riddle me this: Once it's spent it's gone FOREVER....

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/February-Copy-Due.html?soid=1102382229068&aid=J0SiXCumwv4

Seth's Blog: The inevitable decline due to clutter

Subscribed to Set's Blog yet? Seth's Blog: The inevitable decline due to clutter In another short post Seth tackles the idea of clutter, in this case media clutter, where less really is more.

I'm going through my inbox this morning. I've been decluttering for nearly an hour and a half. That's because I've subscribed to too many interesting sites. I'm bombarded with information that actually deserves my attention, things I'm interested in, but Holy Cow, an hour and a half, every Saturday? This has got to stop.

1. No more going back to read articles, I think I might be interested in.

2. I will cancel some subscriptions and some group memberships.

3. This year, less is more.

Too much time is spent on activities like cleaning up my cluttered inbox. It's Saturday. If I didn't read and respond during the week -- it shall be deleted. If you sent me something and I didn't respond, I hope you understand. I really need to clean the bathroom, change the litter box, and run trash to the recycle center.

How much time do you spend decluttering your inbox?

JPEGsnoop | Download JPEGsnoop software for free at SourceForge.net

Ever heard of EXIF data in jpegs? Me neither. Did you know a whole lot more than your picture is recorded in your digital data file and is attached to your picture? Kim Komando posted a great article about this on her website. You'll find it here. Reviewing and removing EXIF data See if this is something you need to be concerned about. You'll find the software to read and remove EXIF data here. JPEGsnoop Download JPEGsnoop software for free at SourceForge.net

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/January-Copy-Due.html?soid=1102382229068&aid=1c54W0_TsGQ

Sorry, I didn't double check my post to make sure my newsletter posted here. Here's a quick URL, the Broker Sherpa video is included.
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/January-Copy-Due.html?soid=1102382229068&aid=1c54W0_TsGQ

2010-2011 Costs Vs. Value: Home & Design: REALTOR Magazine

Every year the National Association of REALTORS in cooperation with Remodeling Magazine (a trade publication) brings us the Cost vs. Value Report. Would it surprise you to know that the expense of remodeling is rarely recovered when a home is sold? 2010-2011 Costs Vs. Value: Home & Design: REALTOR Magazine

For your sellers who wanted to remodel and are having second thoughts about whether or not to tackle a project, you have to ask. Will the home sell at all without an updated kitchen? Is a bank going to loan money on this house?How much will it cost to replace that rotten deck out back? Remember, buyer's always think it will cost more to finish a project than it will, and sellers think it will cost less than it does.