Real Life Real Estate Blog

Today marks a momentous occasion for RealLifeRealEstateBlog. We are introducing the first of several new contributors to help provide useful information about Real Estate, along with some fun stuff. Her name is Janine Romney and since her debut here at RealLifeRealEstateBlog coincides closely with the start of the 2008 Major League Baseball season, she has provided us with the Season Schedules for the A’s and the Giants on our new “Fun Things in NorCal” page. Look forward to hearing more from her on important title issues and interesting events in and around the Sacramento Area.

Zillow.com is adding yet another “user friendly” element to their website. Kevin Boer goes into great deal about it in an article on his site, 3oceansrealestate.com.

Everyone from Wall Street to Singapore would like to know exactly when the US housing market will bottom. Being a savvy investor, I am not disclosing the date and time that I have accurately predicted.

However, I will let the world know some of the methods I have used:

1. Swing a pendulum over the Real Estate section of your local newspaper and ask it, “Is today the bottom?”.
2. Talk with your pet. Animals tend to be more in tune to the climate outside. The same applies for the financial climate.
3. Listen to one of Donald Trump’s Trump University CD’s backwards. He’ll tell you when the bottom will hit and it will blow your mind.
4. The month before the bottom comes the show “Flip that House” will not run as often on TLC.
5. Eat Alphabits cereal and look for the month in which the bottom will be upon us.
6. Consult your trusty eight ball.
7. Go to the sauna at your local gym. Stay in longer than the recommended 10-15 minutes to find your “Spirit” Financial Advisor.
8. Send a letter to Ben Bernanke asking when the housing bottom will hit. I’m sure you will get a prompt and overcompensated response.
9. Watch the much anticipated upcoming movie, “The Sub-prime Code.”
10. Wait for CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, and Oprah to tell you when the bottom hits.

Since the DOW closed today at 12548 points, I figured that now would be as good a time as any for a little diversion. Good news, although temporary, is still good news and cause to celebrate. Without the weight of a drooping stock market on my mind today, I decided it would be best to sit down and “process” what has been going on with the economy and everything in general by rekindling a long lost passion of mine. Tonight, for the first time in almost two years, I will attempt to play my guitar. I was inspired by a website I ran across, Chordbook.com, which is filled with lessons, music theory help, and a very good chord dictionary. It can definitely help anyone, a novice or someone who has fallen far from guitar greatness like myself, to learn and enjoy the instrument. Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to try to learn a full song again with the help of Chordbook.com and some old guitar books I have.

I’m feeling a little more down to earth so I want to learn something acoustic. Also, the strings on my electric guitar are broken while my acoustic has been safely gathering dust in the closet and I am too busy (or lazy, you pick) to go buy new strings. I was thinking of something by The Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Oasis, Radiohead, or the Beatles. These are just a couple of groups I was thinking of.  I’ll be giving an update soon about my song choice and how well (or not) my guitar rehabilitation is going.

Happy St. Patrick’s day everyone. Even if you’re not Irish like me, remember that on St. Patrick’s day everyone is Irish and every one can take time to appreciate friends, family, fun, and perhaps a nice pint of Guinness. So “go green” today and enjoy the festivities. If you’re a fan of St. Patrick’s day and would like to make it an official holiday in the US, then hop on over to www.proposition317.com to sign the petition.

If you’re like me and not like my dad, you don’t hit the mute button every time a commercial comes on TV. I understand his desire to shut out the onslaught of advertising that can sometimes make you want to apply a gun directly to your forehead, apply directly to the forehead just like Head On headache cream. However, being interested in both artistic pursuits and business, I find that some marketers can make an advertisement that is cute, funny, or, on rare occasions, awe inspiring. For example, in the commercial for Cadillac’s new CTS (Motor Trend’s 2008 car of the year) the actress, Kate Walsh, begs the question, “When you turn your car on, does it return the favor?” My friends, I now know the standard by which I will measure my next car purchase, however modest. Advertisements obviously influence all of as and they are also a sign of the times. This brings us back to the new National Association of Realtors commercial. You can check out the video for yourself on Youtube. The commercial is NAR’s attempt to address the current market. Kudos to them for actually talking about it. They have more gusto than some of the other major entities in the market. Being a Real Estate agent myself, I do agree with the facts of the commercial; interest rates are low, and it is a great time to buy… for a lot of people, but not for everyone. As soon as the commercial was over, I found myself wondering whether or not people would think that this was NAR’s way of gasping for air in a suffocating economy, or if the message would hit home that using a Realtor is the best way to navigate the often stormy and confusing seas of home buying, especially if it is your first time. Since I am an agent myself, I cannot be an objective observer. So, being the humble webmiester that I am, I invite you to voice your opinion.

Watch the commercial and tell us what you think in the comment section. Fellow real estate professionals, you can comment as well but I implore you to honor the honors system and let the other readers know in your comment.

P.S. No disrespect to NAR. I support their efforts, I am simply questioning their approach.