Archive for December, 2006

TIME: EVERYONE IS ‘PERSON OF THE YEAR’

This is the definition of cool and lame at the same time. Everyone is Person of the Year according to Time Magazine. So, take a bow and book a speaking agent, because you too can bill yourself as Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.” via the Drudge Report

16Dec2006 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued

Top 10 Smartest Cities in the United States

If you are looking to live in an area where a good percentage of the people around you are intelligent and college educated, we have the list for you.
Top 10 Smartest Cities in the United States:

Boulder, Colorado – 52.9 % with a bachelors degree
Bethesda, Maryland – 49.8%
Ann Arbor, Michigan 47.9 %
Cambridge, Massachusetts 43.4%
San Francisco, California [...]

16Dec2006 | Tom Royce | 5 comments | Continued

Washington DC Experiencing Correction Not Crash

After years of extrodinary housing valuation gains, the Washington DC is in the midst of a correction according to local experts. I am sure for some segments of the market, mainly condos, the market looks more like a crash. However, when the marketplace is looked at as a whole, there is a very natural and [...]

15Dec2006 | Tom Royce | 4 comments | Continued

Home Marketing Techniques – Aerial Pictures to Sell Homes

There has been a bit of discussion in the real estate blogging world on how best to take pictures of homes that are for sale to place in the MLS or other marketing vehicles. Ardell uses a photo to show a condo is dog friendly. Galen also at Rain City explores some of his tricks [...]

14Dec2006 | Tom Royce | 4 comments | Continued

Local Governments and Real Estate Taxes

After the huge run up in real estate values, governments got greedy and spent the new found tax money rolling into their coffers as fast as they could. They can not help it, they are politicians and spending money is how you get re-elected. But now that housing prices are stabilizing or coming back off [...]

13Dec2006 | Tom Royce | 3 comments | Continued

Piggy Back Mortgages Rising In Popularity

The use of a piggy back mortgage is rising in popularity according to a Wall Street Journal/Harris Research poll released last week. It is a fairly smart move if you are financing a high percentage of a homes worth to avoid the dreaded PMI, or private mortgage insurance. For those who do not know how it works, you [...]

12Dec2006 | Tom Royce | 3 comments | Continued

RE Marketing Trick 165 – Buy a Home, Get a Gun

You have to love those that wake up in the morning and say, I want to do things differently. If you are in Houston, Texas and looking to buy a home, give Julie Upton a call. Seriously, she found a way to differentiate herself by developing a marketing program that is off the charts.
If [...]

12Dec2006 | Tom Royce | 3 comments | Continued

Senate Fails to Vote on Eminent Domain Legislation

The Senate took a pass at bringing a vote to the floor on the eminent domain issue, allowing Federal dollars to be used to take others properties for private gain. The Republican leadership attempted to bring the eminent domain issue for a vote, but a Senator placed a block on the legislation. This denied the [...]

11Dec2006 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued

First Family of Real Estate on Long Island Going Different Ways

While some may think that the divisions in the Rechler family over the direction of the real estate business they have built is a bad thing, I think it is a smart move. The Rechlers are one of the leading real estate holders in the Metro New York area, with a very strong concentration in [...]

11Dec2006 | Tom Royce | 0 comments | Continued

Ground Rents in Baltimore: Dangerous Territory for Homeowners

The use of ground rents is one that comes to us from colonial America. They are land leases for the land that homes are built on, originating from grants given to aristocrats from the English Royalty. Now some individuals are using them to take homes from others in Baltimore. And these ground rents have more [...]

11Dec2006 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued