My background prior to my 25 year real estate career was in the field of education. I was always going to be a teacher and got my degree in French from the University of Nevada, Reno. When I got into real estate in 1986, I was told teachers were generally successful in this field and it made sense to me. Buying or selling a house is an educational process. The terminology and the processes are Continue Reading
Archives for November 2013
Harvey’s Brussel Sprouts
Today was our office's Thanksgiving Potluck. Every year, I make my brussel sprouts and that are a huge hit so I wanted to share the recipe. Harvey’s Brussels Sprouts 2# bag of Brussels sprouts 6 strips of thick cut bacon 1 med yellow onion finely chopped 2 cups stock (veg, chix, beef) Salt and pepper Clean the Brussels sprouts by cutting the base and removing the Continue Reading
THE BIG NUMBER….THE REAL ESTATE COMMISSION
Recently, I placed a home on the market for a 65 year old single man who is about to retire. I have known him for over 20 years but only represented him once in a real estate transaction. He was the buyer so the home seller paid the real estate commission in that transaction. However, he has bought and sold many properties over the years. I checked on the sales prices in his neighborhood and Continue Reading
There is a reason why a seller has an agent!
After a contract is negotiated and an agreement is reached on price and terms, the fun starts in a transaction with the buyer's inspections. If the property has a well and septic system, the inspections are generally expensive and a bit more complicated. Recently, a buyer had agreed to pay for the septic inspection for a Las Vegas house built in the 1980's. The septic tank was located with the Continue Reading
Wait…I have equity in my home?
A few weeks ago, our in house lender and I were chatting about the market and he asked me, "Do you have 20% equity in your house"? "If you do, you might be able to do a refinance and move your loan to conventional". It never crossed my mind that we might have equity in our home until he said that. I asked Harvey to run the comps for me and when he did, the numbers showed that we just might! We Continue Reading
