Author Archives: Lane Bailey

Sixth part? Yep.

My “other” post on September 11th was P is for Pictures. With the importance of the internet for consumers looking for homes, the presentation is more important than ever before. Previously, I showed bad pictures… this time I went for the good ones.

A lot of people on Active Rain thought I was going to have a problem with Q… Q is for Quit Claim. It was easy. When reviewing the title history, seeing a Quit Claim Deed doesn’t have to mean there is a problem. Often it just means that a good closing attorney wanted to make sure there wasn’t a problem in the future.

Not every real estate agent is a REALTOR(R). Unfortunately, the words have become interchangeable… even inside the industry. R is for REALTOR(R). I outlined the differences.

For my consumer blog, I called in an expert to handle S is for Staging. Angel Walker agreed to help me out and made a GREAT post. Staging isn’t new, but many of us in the industry have a new found respect for the results staging can bring.

As with the rest of the world, T is for Technology. There are a LOT of technologies that buyers, sellers and agents are bombarded with every day.

I am not a “half-measures” person. I believe that doing it means doing it right… and doing it up! I don’t like things that are wimpy. If you want to have a great kitchen, make it a GREAT kitchen. If you are going to have a garage, make it a killer garage. U is for Ultimate. Everybody has a different definition, what’s yours?

Here I sit, writing for “virtual” subscribers, from my “virtual” office. How could I write anything different than V is for Virtual.

Some say that negotiating is a contact sport. There can only be one winner in any contest. Take no prisoners. Give no quarter. But, as often is the case, it isn’t over until it is over, and the very people you just beat up get to hold the cards again. In real estate, W is for Win… and Win.

I knew what I was going to write about when I got to X before I had even figured out what I would write for D. This was one of my favorite posts. I think it is important, and despite my often flippant attitude and writing style, I tried to treat this with a little more respect. X is for… (that doesn’t mean there was NO room for humor).

I interupted my A-Z series to bring in the Market Update for Gwinnett County, August 2007.

Despite the name, Y is for Youth, this post is about ethics and honesty… and Jimmie Johnson bashing (indirectly, since he seems to be the NASCAR cheater without remorse).

Z is for… (surprise)

Finally done with the A-Z series, I went back to talking and thinking of garage stuff. Where is the cool garage stuff? is as much about the search as it is about the results. But, every garage needs some fluff… really cool fluff.

So, that was kind of expensive. So, Now let’s try some cool garage stuff that won’t break the bank. Northern Tool and Harbor Freight provided some of the inspiration. Whirlpool gave some as well. We can’t all spring for $3400 fridges.

Since I was on a roll, I found some More Groovy Cool Garage Stuff… This more about environment and decor. But, the “man pit” doesn’t have to be ALL about work.

Part V… will it ever end?

On my “other” blog, at Active Rain, I had written a post about generating ideas for blog posts. Well, one of those ideas was to do an A-Z series. So, I did.

A is for Appraisal covers the basics about Appraisals, CMAs, CMSs and BPOs. They all have different methodology, but the goal is the same… figuring out the value of a property.

One of the items that WILL be more utilized is the buyer’s agency agreement. I cover why in B is for Buyer’s Agent. Many states will be requiring agency agreements with buyers, as they have with sellers for years.

Not all sales are all cash, as-is and without any reservations. So, C is for Contingency.

Getting a property inspected, checking future zoning or verifying value would all be D is for Due Diligence.

E is for Ethics is about exactly that. Good ethics are paramount in the real estate industry. An agent without a positive ethical grounding is just about worthless. But, ethics aren’t the only thing.

Everybody wants a deal. Barely a day goes by that I don’t have a call about foreclosures. After all, they should be a good deal, right? Sometimes they are. Sometimes… not so much. F is for Foreclosure.

Would I be a “garage-loving” agent if I didn’t write G is for Garage?

In most states, an owner’s primary residences carries financial and legal protections. Much of this is covered in H is for Homestead.

Every once in a while I write something short. I is for Inspection is my short post.

I had this friend. She bought me a Christmas present for the employee party where we worked. I wrote a blog post 20 years later… Obviously it begins with J… but I’ll let it be a surprise.

K is for Knock-down. Boy, there are a lot of angles one could look at this subject from. I picked one…

I love garages. But, I also really love industrial style lofts. L is for Loft talks about a loft that I “followed” for a while. Interesting changes.

Car people stay on top of their scheduled maintenance for their cars. M is for Maintenance tells why homes need the same attention.

It might have been a lame stretch, but N is for Numbers. I hear a lot of agents saying that they aren’t really “number people”, but it just isn’t true…

I’m preparing to have an O is for Open House for the property at the Tuscany. I blogged about advantages and disadvantages of an open house in this post.

I took a break on Sept. 11th to write about what happened for my wife and I on that day in 2001. It was a normal day…

Part IV. Lots of posts…

This time we’ll start with It’s time for the IRS to GO! I’m a supporter of the FairTax, so I laid out the case in response to the news story about the guy that caught Barry Bonds’ record-breaking home run. Fun, huh?

If you don’t know, I created a Local Real Estate Forum for Buyers, Sellers, Investors, FSBOs and others. I wish I could say that it is bustling with activity, but it isn’t. I’m always looking to change that. Another feature that I have added is individual subdivision areas. With this, your neighborhood (if it is around Gwinnett County, GA) can have a private forum… no one that hasn’t been granted permission will be able to even see it is there.

I dived deeper into the FairTax, Since I previously brought up the FairTax… more specifically regarding real estate. Keep in mind that this is based on my understanding of the plan.

July 2007 Market Report for Gwinnett County. How did I do on my predictions?

There are simply things that I am not allowed to actually talk about as a licensed real estate agent. Fair Housing laws mean that people have to go elsewhere for Answers to questions I can’t answer.

The next part of my Real Estate Investing Series is Real Estate Investing 202 – Buy and Hold Strategies. If I recall correctly, it deals with buy and hold strategies.

The MacDaddy of my Real Estate Investing Series has been Real Estate Investing 301 – Advanced Strategies. I have received scores of calls on this one. Don’t call my office… I’m not there. Emailing me is MUCH better. Of course, the NCNDA will be the first thing we go over…

Are we our own worst enemy? Sometimes I think so. While this is primarily aimed at those in the real estate business, there might be a few things that others can carry away from it.

I don’t really like “business school speak.” Words like product and inventory have their place, but it isn’t in front of consumers when talking about their food, homes, cars or financial planning. Wouldn’t you love to own this wonderful INVENTORY?

I write a lot it seems. How many blog posts do I need for a book?

As part of my forum project, I created an Atlanta Area Motorsports Calendar. If you have an event (pro or amateur), meeting or other type of event just let me know. I’ll post it up. This is a link to the release.

Want to sell your home to an investor? It might not be all it’s cracked up to be. “We Buy Ugly Homes” might also make something you think of as an ugly offer. But, there are advantages, too. Read on…

I had to revisit the 200 level classes in my Real Estate Investing Series. In Real Estate Investing 203 – Shifting Classes and Uses, I explored increasing investment value through changes in zoning or usage.

Always willing to play for a while, I tossed up A little more Moab, with a few friends. I love that place… and I need to get my Jeep done so I can go back. Buy a house.

I don’t think the offer is good any more, but I asked Are you a first time home buyer willing to be on TV?

Part 3 of my 1,000,000 part series… If you have liked something I wrote, this will give you an little easier time finding something else that might inform or entertain you. All of these posts are tagged with “blog anthology.”

It might be a little dry for those outside of the profession, but Maybe it’s Time to Bury Dual Agency lays out the case for not allowing it. This would still allow unrepresented buyers or sellers, but there would be no conflict regarding one agent having agency agreements with both parties.

For anyone that doesn’t know I own an ugly Jeep, here you go. Not only is part of it green, but I might be to. Does this mean I’m actually Green? Recycling, precycling, and controlling the thermostat are just a couple of symptoms. It could be that I’m cheap, too…

Watching the news would lead one to think that there is a massive entity called… The National Real Estate Market. It just isn’t so. HEY MEDIA… Are you listening? ALL Real Estate is LOCAL!!! There are markets doing quite well, others are average, and some are collapsing… but they can’t seem to figure that out.

The second in my Real Estate Investing Series was Real Estate Investing 201, Digging Deeper into Flipping looked at exactly that… flipping.

Because so few people “got” the post about specializing, I decided to be more blunt… and expand a bit. Do you have a Unique Selling Proposition? goes into using a niche market. While I think there is a benefit to real estate agents, I think that it also applies to those selling a home. It has to be marketed, too.

Finally, I got to talk about garages again. I’m telling you… the GARAGE is the “new Media Room” has nothing to do with media rooms. instead, media rooms were hot. All of the new houses had to have one. Now, bigger and cooler garages are gaining in popularity.

Want to go to DisneyWorld? There are ways to do it that only break part of the bank. DisneyWorld Bargain Strategy won’t get you there for free, but there are ways to seriously upgrade the experience without seriously upgrading the cost.

DeKalb County Limited Building Moratorium talks about infill.

In a similar vein, Cobb County places restrictions on number of adults living in single family homes.

Are there just too many real estate agents? I wonder the same thing. Nationwide, almost 1% of the population is licensed. Some places it is over 2%.

Cool Toys and Ideas for the Garage was heavier on ideas than toys. There are some good links and some pros and cons about different garage products.

Know anyone that wants a 7000 SF Log Home on Lake Lanier?

I was just curious about luxury touches on entry level homes. Luxurious Entry Level Homes? asks if entry level buyers think it is worth it.

In one of my Market Reports, I made a few predictions. I called this one a month ago… covers one of those predictions.

The NAR has actually tried to get in front of thise a few times, but i think it needs to be the centerpiece of what we do in Washington, as well as EVERY state capitol. Eminent Domain Abuse is running rampant, and it needs to stop.

Welcome to part 2 of my anthology of previous blog posts. The purpose is to give a quick reference to the older posts for newer readers. All of these posts are tagged with “blog anthology.” If you click on that link to the right, you will get all of these posts. So, let’s dive in.

In Agent as Buyer, I wrote about my experiences looking at property with my wife… we haven’t bought yet, and it is on the back burner. But, it might be interesting to see how a real estate agent looks at personal real estate.

The next two posts are connected. In Mercedes Doesn’t Discount and But Wal-Mart Does, I talk a little bit about discount brokerages, FSBOs and full service brokerages. There are people that are best served by each model, and others that are poorly served by getting into the wrong one for the wrong reason.

Lessons From Driving School is primarily pointed towards real estate practitioners, but it obviously came from outside real estate, and the basic lesson applies to almost everything we might do.

Do you wonder What Buyers Are Looking For? If so, drop in and take a look at an abstract of the 2007 NAR Buyer’s Survey. I bring it up again later after it is released. Yes, garages are on the list…

I always preach that the value of a home is NEVER related to what one owes or what one paid, but in this post, I Stand Corrected.

Many homeowners wonder about Repairs, Improvements, Upgrades and Resale. They are important. When one is selling a home, is it worth it to spend money, and if so, how should it be spent? This is one of my most popular articles on Ezine.

Obviously, I think that consumers need an agent when they are buying a home. But, Buying a New Home… Still Need An Agent? lays out the case for having an agent that represents YOU and not the builder if you are buying new construction.

I know of a house that sat under contract for over six months. The discount broker let the seller sign a contract that didn’t give him an out if there was not timely performance by the buyer. I call that Customer Dis-Service, Pt. I.

Stone Mountain Park had a cool event this summer in conjunction with Animal Planet… it’s over now, but you can read about it here.

One of the most important things a marketing plan needs to include in order to sell a house is GOOD photos. After all, Pictures are the first (and maybe last) impression you will give a Buyer. These aren’t good…

Everyone wants to know, Are we on the edge of a Calamitous Housing Bubble? Well, this lays out the case for why we are actually doing pretty well in Gwinnett County, GA.

Since I was in a predictive mood, I decided to tackle What is going to happen to Interest Rates? So far, I seem to be on track. We had a bump that was a little smaller than I expected, but they are sliding now.

One of my best posts so far has been The “Dirty Little Secret” that FSBO companies won’t tell you! I was watching the news and there was a STUPID story about real estate “dirty little secrets”. But, I think they missed the mark. I didn’t mention it in the post, but the DLS that started it was that real estate agents don’t tell clients that they don’t exclusively own time shares… What idiot does NOT know that?

I am so misunderstood sometimes. On my other platform, almost EVERYONE missed the point of We specialize in American, Asian and European Cars and Trucks. It isn’t just for real estate, but that is a primary focus here.