Things Your Burglar Won’t Tell You
February 2nd, 2010 Categories: Real Estate News, Twin City Sellers
THINGS YOUR BURGLAR WON’T TELL YOU:
1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.
2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.
3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste…and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.
4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.
5. If it snows while you’re out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.
6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. That makes it too easy.
7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It’s not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.
8. It’s raining, you’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door-understandable. But understand this: I don’t take a day off because of bad weather.
9. I always knock first. If you answer, I’ll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don’t take me up on it.)
10. Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.
11. Here’s a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids’ rooms.
12. You’re right. I won’t have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But, if it’s not bolted down, I’ll take it with me.
13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you’re reluctant to leave your TV on while you’re out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.)
8 MORE THINGS A BURGLAR WON’T TELL YOU:
1. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.
2. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.
3. I’ll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he’ll stop what he’s doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn’t hear it again, he’ll just go back to what he was doing. It’s human nature.
4. I’m not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?
5. I love looking in your windows. I’m looking for signs that you’re home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I’d like. I’ll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.
6. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It’s easier than you think to look up your address.
7. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it’s an invitation..
8. If you don’t answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.
Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina , Oregon ,
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Reason #5 Why Plymouth, MN is Rated as Best Place to Live in the U.S. - Plymouth Pet Owners Catch a Break
January 17th, 2010 Categories: Local Ordinances, Plymouth "News", Real Estate News
With over 70,000 residents in the City of Plymouth, it’s estimated that more than half are pet owners. Little did I know, Plymouth required that these pet owners needed to buy pet licenses for their animals to the tune of $3.00 a piece. Turns out, the city has realized that since only the law-abiding citizens of Plymouth actually buy these licenses, they are also the ones who keep track of their pets.
They’ve also realized that sometimes it’s a good idea to quit doing what doesn’t work!
(Above is a picture of “Babyboy”, courtesy of a friend of mine, Andrea Johnson.)
Plymouth City Council has recently voted to discontinue the licensing of pets. They figured out that it cost the city more to administer the license process than the $3.00 it took in for the license. What’s more, only 2,262 dogs and 244 cats were licensed. I am happy that the city council is fiscally responsible enough to own up to a bad idea. They, in essence, are saving the tax payers some money.
Plymouth limits the total number of cats and dogs in one household to four. There is still a multiple animal license if you have more than four. The license costs $50 and an inspection of the home or property is required. (Yikes!) If you have any questions regarding the rules and regulations for multiple animals, call the City of Plymouth 763-509-5160.
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Not Another One of Those “I’m Thankful For” Thanksgiving Essays!
November 19th, 2009 Categories: It's My Blog, Real Estate News, The Good Life
Every year when we sit down for our Thanksgiving dinner, I begin by asking each person to tell us what they’re thankful for. Having three grown sons and a husband who isn’t exactly the sentimental type, I get the proverbial eyeball roll and we just say our traditional grace.
I’m always thankful for my family, friends, clients, health, etc., so this year I would like to list the things that are considered new age, entrepreneurial, techy and fun. They have truly enhanced my life and I am very grateful that someone was bright enough to invent these wonderful things for me.
- My now-paid-for Acura TL
- XM Radio
- Breathe Right Nose Strips
- My Ipod Nano
- Netflix
- My sauna
- The Food Network
- The Internet
- My Treo w/ekey
- BNI Full Circle Chapter
So there you have it. Ten items are enough. I could live without these things, but I sure would not want to! Happy Thanksgiving!
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Twin Cities Buyers Seem to Have Borrowed Some More Time
October 30th, 2009 Categories: Mortgage Stuff, National Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Twin Cities Home Buyers, Twin Cities Real Estate Economy
Set to expire at end of November, plan will remain until end of April
My friend in the mortgage biz at Prime Mortgage sent me the latest news on the first-time home buyer credit:
Senators agreed Wednesday to extend a popular tax credit for first-time home buyers and to offer a reduced credit to some repeat buyers.
The tax credit provides up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers but is set to expire at the end of November.
Senators agreed to extend the existing tax credit for first-time home buyers while offering a reduced credit of up to $6,500 to repeat buyers who have owned their current homes for at least five years, said Regan Lachapelle, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
The tax credits would be available to home buyers who sign purchase agreements by the end of April. They would have until the end of June to close on their new homes, said a congressional aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the deal.
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10 “Must Haves” Your Realtor Should Provide for You
October 11th, 2009 Categories: Keller Williams, Real Estate News, Twin City Sellers
When you decide to sell your home, you need to do your homework before selecting a Realtor. It’s a good idea to interview three of us before making your choice.
Here are the top ten “must haves” your Realtor should provide for you:
- Top-notch integrated website that allows lead capturing and detailed information about your property.
- Massive coverage of all real estate internet websites with your home’s information and lots of pictures.
- Hold a Realtor open house as soon as possible to obtain price and condition opinions of other Realtors and to allow them to preview the home for their potential buyers.
- Make sure to obtain feedback from the buyers’ agents to provide to you on a timely basis.
- Make suggestions as to what needs to be repaired, cleaned or removed from the home before listing.
- Price the home properly right from the start.
- Strong and firm negotiating when receiving an offer from a buyer.
- Communication, either by phone or email, on a consistent basis…even if there is nothing new to tell.
- A strong real estate brokerage to back up your Realtor’s administrative needs, which includes an excellent appointment coordinator.
- Confidence, trust and integrity are crucial to a good working relationship between you and your Realtor.
In order to sell your home, you and your Realtor need to agree on a sound working relationship to get the job done. By the way, if I, as your Realtor, didn’t think I could live up to these “must have” provisions, I wouldn’t have written this post!
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A Little Confusion on the Minneapolis Advantage Funds
October 10th, 2009 Categories: Minneapolis Home Buyers and Sellers, Real Estate News
Map of MPLS Advantage Funds If you are looking to buy a home in Minneapolis, that’s great! There are some great programs out there that various neighborhoods are offering, as well as some grants. One of the programs that some of us thought were city-wide are, in fact, not available. That is the Minneapolis Advantage Program. Only certain neighborhoods fall under the program. Above is a map that shows the neighborhoods that have these funds available.
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Twin Cities - What You Should Know Before You Buy That Flippin’ House
October 9th, 2009 Categories: Real Estate News, That Flippin' House
The big Twin Cities area foreclosure auction has come and gone. Many homes were sold to would-be investors who want to flip their new purchase. Some of these investors had never been inside the house that they just purchased.
Finding just the right home to fix up and resell can take time. There are many things you must consider before you buy. There’s been a real surge of homes sales to people who got caught up in the Flip This House craze.
Here’s how to make sure your flip doesn’t flop. Read the rest of this entry »
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Twin City Sellers, Price Your Home Right - Right From the Start!
September 7th, 2009 Categories: My Listings, Real Estate News, Twin City Sellers
This is one of my listings that I sold this summer in just 35 days! 3209 Florida Avenue South in St. Louis Park.
It’s always an exciting moment for me when I have a listing appointment with a potential seller. I love to sell homes and I really love to discuss with my clients the different aspects of what it takes to sell their home, examining the comparative market analysis that I have prepared and what to expect during the selling process.
BUT WAIT! Once in a while, the seller seems to think that they know what the price of their home should be (or wants it to be)! This makes it a bit difficult for me to proceed when they already have a pre-conceived notion in their heads. I continue with my listing appointment, none-the-less, and look at all of the aspects of what will go in to the pricing decision. Most of the time, we will agree to price the home properly and all’s well that ends well.
Inevitably, there are sellers who resist and insist on pricing it higher than what the market will bear, or,in other words, what the buyers are willing to pay. This sets both the sellers and myself up for disaster.
What are the objections of the sellers when I advise them to list their home lower than they believe it should be?
- The neighbors down the street sold their home for the price that we want to list ours at and it’s even not as nice.
- We have to get this much, or we’ll be upside down.
- We put a lot of money into this house to fix it up. Just look at the bathroom!
- We have our eye on a new house up the road and it will take this price for us to be able to do it.
- We’ve lived here for ten years and we expect lots of equity by now.
- We want to price it higher so that we have some wiggle room if a low offer comes in.
These are actual comments that I have heard. So, if I don’t make it clear as to what the market is doing and they won’t listen, I have a choice to make. I either take the listing at the price my sellers want to sell it at, or advise them that I will not list their home at the price they want and risk losing the listing and subsequent sale.
To be frank, I’ve done both. In either scenario, I’ve never been wrong about where the price should be when it was originally listed. It’s a matter of whether my clients will cooperate. I have taken listings at too high a starting point and I have walked away from potential listings where I knew that it would never sell at the high price. At some point, I let the sellers know that I cannot sell their home at the current price and it has to be lowered.
If they don’t want to or can’t, then it’s time for us to part ways. This happened to me twice this summer. Both times, the sellers went with another Realtor and immediately lowered the price to where I had suggested! What!!!???
Are the sellers just saving face by making such a seemingly illogical decision? I have mentioned this phenomenon to fellow Realtors and they have gone through the same thing with their buyers, too. I have not figured it out yet, but I will persevere to get the answer.
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Half Time in the Twin Cities - Real Estate Video Intermission!
August 4th, 2009 Categories: Minneapolis Current Housing Statistics, Minneapolis Home Buyers and Sellers
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How To Be Laid Back - A Twin Cities Realtor’s Quest!
July 6th, 2009 Categories: Outside of the Box, Real Estate News, The Good Life
It’s summer and here, in the Twin Cities, it’s very short. I have decided to pretend that I am on vacation all summer and will sprinkle in my wonderful Realtor job during this time. My clients are extremely important to me, however, I know that they want to be relaxed, too. We have a good time together and it doesn’t seem like work to me! Here is a great article from wikiHow, one of my favorite bookmarked sites. I aim to follow these steps!
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Whether you’re a worrywart, a perfectionist, an overachiever, or a workaholic, you’ve probably envied people who seem to float through life gracefully, never concerned (like you are) about what might happen if they don’t do this or don’t do that. Perhaps they’re not the most motivated or accomplished people you’ve met, but they always seem content. If you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum–always doing, never satisfied–here’s how to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride that is your life.
Steps
- Do one thing at a time. The world’s greatest achievements were made by people who gave the task in front of them their undivided attention. Tackling multiple activities at once might feel efficient, but is it really productive? Is giving each task 30% of your attention for three hours as effective as giving each task 100% of your attention for one hour each? If something doesn’t deserve your undivided attention, maybe it’s not worth doing at all.
- Slow down. Why the rush? If what you’re doing is important enough to warrant your time, you might as well enjoy it. Cleaning the house for an hour with your favourite music playing and your bottom shaking is better than cleaning the house in half that time but in a frantic state of mind. Plus, if you’re having fun with your chores, maybe other people will be tempted to join. Don’t just “get it over with”–find a way to make every activity something that you look forward to doing.
- Stop being a perfectionist. High standards have their place–when performing surgery, for example, or designing a building–but when applied to other areas of your life (your appearance, your home’s appearance, your hobbies, your handwriting, whatever) you’re practically inviting anxiety into your life. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have any standards at all; it’s when you start stressing out about the details that you need to ask yourself: “Will doing this right now make me truly happy? Will it make me a better person? Will it make the world a better place?” Usually, the answer is no. Don’t allow perfectionism to become the enemy of your potential.
- Step aside. When you close your eyes and imagine your role in the world, do you see yourself as Atlas, the mythological Titan, holding the weight of the world on your shoulders? Do you feel like you want to relax, but worry that if you do, everything will fall apart? If so, you need to delegate some responsibility. You might think other people won’t do as good a job, but that’s the thing: they’ll never do it just like you do. So give them responsibility, give them advice, and pass the reins. Don’t be surprised if they make mistakes; just be there to support them, and let them fix (and learn from) their mistakes. Not only will this take some weight off of your shoulders, but it can be very fulfilling to watch someone grow and mature as a result of your guidance.
- Remember that it’s not the end of the world. Many people spend their entire lives trying to prevent bad things from happening. But guess what? They happen anyway. And life goes on. That’s not to say you shouldn’t take any kinds of precautions in life, but if the majority of your thoughts are consumed in contingency planning, you’re not enjoying life. You’re preventing it. When you’re feeling threatened by things that haven’t happened yet, remember these words by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
Some of your hurts you have cured,
And the sharpest you still have survived,
But what torments of grief you endured
From the evil which never arrived. - Focus on what you have, not what you have to do. Sometimes we trick ourselves into thinking I have to straighten this up.. I have to correct him.. I have to stop her..” but truthfully, we don’t have to do anything. You can walk away from any task, at any time. Try replacing every “have to” with a “want to” and see if the statement still holds. Meaning, is it something that you’ll look back on when you’re in your deathbed and be happy you did? Most likely not. So appreciate what you have, while you have it.
- Learn meditation. Some systems may be quite involved, but most are relatively simple, and all of them will help you achieve all of the above.
Tips
- When bad things happen (and they will, no matter what) shrug and smile. Remind yourself that:
- Life goes on.
- Don’t let things make you upset or angry. Remember it’s your choice to get bent out of shape. Learn from the experience. Focus on the big picture.
- You win some, you lose some.
- This too will pass.
- You can’t please everybody.
- We live and learn.
- Don’t sweat the small stuff.
- Remember that sometimes bad things lead to the best things.
- Shift your mindset so that you concentrate on what makes you feel happy, not on what makes you feel safe.
- If it seems like something is bothering you, just convince yourself that you don’t find it annoying at all. Although hard to get into straight away, when you put yourself into this mindset it’s amazing what you can live with.
- Don’t worry if you can’t follow these instructions perfectly at first! It takes time to learn to let go.
Warnings
- Don’t confuse being laid-back with being lazy. The goal is to be happy.
- Showing a laid-back attitude in the workplace can have risks. Many employers may confuse “laid-back” with “lazy” and think one does not take the job seriously. It is important to show that this attitude can actually be very productive, often even more so than others which demand greater stress.
- Many environments prefer a cool, calm demeanor over an extreme results driven approach. Be sure to identify your role and pick your battles very carefully.
Related wikiHows
- How to Be Optimistic
- How to Be Patient
- How to Live a Simple and Peaceful Life
- How to Create a Calmer Household
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Be Laid Back. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
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