Category: Real Estate (page 152 of 266)

by Jay Thompson

Incipient Real Estate Broker

Author website

I’m standing in line at Starbucks this morning, in dire need of an eggnog latte fix (sinfully delightful, and good for you!). It was readily apparent that the guy in front of me may be the only person left on the planet who has never before ordered a drink at Starbucks. He was the rare and elusive Starbucks Virgin.

And he looked mortified when the girl ahead of him fired off her order:

“I’ll have a venti half-caf triple shot four pump sugar-free vanilla caramel macchiato.”

The barista, full of typical Starbucks holiday cheer — nose ring and all — approaches Mr. New Customer who has been contemplating the menu for the last seven minutes and says, “What can I get for you?”

“Um, I think I just want a cup of coffee. Uh, maybe with some flavor in it??”

“We’ve got vanilla, hazlenut, Irish creme, almond, mint, Valencia, toffee…”

“Uhm, never mind. Can I just get plain old coffee?”

“Do you want short, tall, grande or venti? With or without room?”

“I just want a cup of coffee.”

As I watched this exchange take place, I saw an overwhelmed customer being “helped” by an experienced worker bee. One too busy to truly help this guy through the process of getting what he walked in for.

Granted, the line behind Mr. New Customer was building rapidly. I’m sure Ms. Nose Ring felt compelled to speed this guy through the line and help waiting customers, most of whom probably knew exactly what they wanted.

Mr. New Customer finally got his coffee, and he walked out mumbling and shaking his head. I wouldn’t be surprised if he never sets foot in a Starbucks again.

And so my warped, caffeine deprived brain began to do what it often does — attempt to associate what I’m witnessing to the real estate business.

Connect ordering at Starbucks to buying a home? Are you nuts?

Not really, and it’s not that big a stretch.

Ms. Nose Ring Barista seemed oblivious to the fact that Mr. New Customer was exactly that — a Starbucks virgin. The guy was overwhelmed with everything happening around him. He was afraid of making a mistake and looking Read more

by Geno Petro

Chicago Broker Owner Realtor | RE 2.0 Blogger

Author website

“I purposely did not go to law school because I purposely did not want to become a lawyer.” I say this a lot to people, usually when they ask me if I’m an attorney, which is more often than you might think. I actually had to mutter those very words last Sunday but I’ll address that particular exchange in a moment.

Don’t be misled by the mug shot in the sidebar. Beneath the Kangol and behind the shades (a vacation shot in Cannes btw, and not my everyday accoutre) exists a living, if not waning, example of the state college system of Pennsylvania; Slippery Rock to be precise. And I can safely go on record to state (since most of them have probably passed on by now) that some of the very brightest alcoholic, if not academic, minds were tenured there during my own concurrent, seven year run; Over 60% of our department’s predominantly male faculty had Ivy League credentials, most of whoms wives could drink the average shore leave sailor under the table. And much like a sanctimonious nonsmoker exiting a smoke filled room, the residual, if not secondary animus, still lingers–even decades later. That, and a knee jerk tendency to counter-respond with a quip when the right moment calls for it.

That era, if you recall, was a big, political, mid-1970s mess and the fact that Nixon was out, the Vietnam War had just ended, and the GI Bill was in full swing, only deepened the already exisitng social chasm on campus. Having not been in the military myself, I had never, up to that point in time, even imagined what it might take (mentally) to annihilate an entire village, (which sadly wasn’t the case with a few of the gentlemen I shared a house with) much less be awarded an all expense paid, four year educational ride, with a VA housing rider to boot. (This however, was the case with everyone in the joint but me.)

And by the way, that is how my veteran housemates all referred to our ramshackle residence; ‘The Joint.’ One frat boy’s Animal House is but another Viet Vet’s joint and we proved as much by renting the basement out to the TKEs for a barrel of beer a month until the town eventually condemned the joint and padlocked the front Read more

by Bill Leider

CEO of Real Estate Shows

Author website

Where is it written that video is the only media capable of telling the unvarnished truth?

To listen to the techie-babblers, video has arrived to save us all from the seductive slime of deceptive sales presentations. Video, they argue, is the best and by some accounts the only way to present a home in sufficient detail to show viewers the flaws along with the features. Video can give a viewer sooo much information that the viewer can say, “Wow, I’ve learned so much about that home that I’m no longer interested in it. I don’t need or want to see it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for saving me all that time.” And because video can do that, it must do that. It’s a sacred calling. All hail.

Not so fast.

In their zealous rush to saviordom, the video geeks have conveniently ignored most of the spectrum of human behavior: the role of emotions in decision making; the normal process of how people want and need to connect, be attracted to, interact and form relationships with other people and with significant possessions (like homes).

In the TB (techie-babbler) world, information (visual, audio, written, whatever) is all that matters. Context means nothing. Holistic models and processes are rubbish. Emotions are to be ignored or suppressed. And some genius found the perfect gift-wrapping to convey this TB notion to the world in one magic word – transparency. God I wish I’d thought of that.

I don’t categorically favor any one medium over all others. They all have their place and time. I’m for competence. I’m against ineptitude. Good still photography used in a compelling presentation is far better than a mediocre video or virtual tour. Well-written, evocative titles and descriptive content beats bad voice-overs. And all media are equally capable of delivering transparency. It’s up to the creators.

Transparency for the sake of transparency, without regard to the setting and purpose of the message, without giving consideration to how people want and need to be communicated with and without taking into account where you are in the relationship and how it will continue to develop – is Read more

by Brian Brady

Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL

Author website

Leave it to Todd Carpenter.

I was on Rain City Guide, wishing Jilayne a happy birthday, today. I scrolled through the posts to see the typical “Do Away With YSP post” that dominates the internet today. It’s another example of heading South to eventually go North.

Todd has the answer (comment #1):

I have another idea. If YSP’s supposedly stress everyone out at the closing table, just stop making brokers disclose it. Then the consumer would start focusing on the true cost of the loan.

Brilliant ! I’m actually giddy.  Todd may not realize it but he just fired the shot heard round the world.