Wanted: sexy pair of work boots.

It’s the second Monday of the month and where will I be: clambering down the steep stairs to the basement of 50 Washington Street in historical Salem, MA.

I am attending my local landlord group.  I look forward to this meeting each month.

http://www.salemlandlords.org/

This is where the landlords of the North Shore meet to discuss “land lording”.

Discussion topics are always full of a wealth of information.  Prior topics have ranged from estate planning to dry wall.  Each month a new topic is presented.

Here you will find a group of friendly, frugal and fun landlords making the cities of the North Shore a better place.

Showing up here in your designer duds and fancy shoes will get a you few laughs and raised eyebrows! 

Knowledge of plaster and a dirty pair of work boots are in vogue here!

My internet affair with Craig.

I’ve had a long term affair since,  2000 with a man named Craig.  He’s really not my “type”.  Being a tall girl I am a sucker for athletic taller blondes. (with tons of muscle and tatoos) 

Craig an artsy, balding older looking guy.  My love for Craig is more for what he has “done for me” over the years. 

He has changed my life as a landlord, realtor, and consumer.

  He is solely reponsible for introducing me to 95% of my tenants. 

 He is responsible for me finding the plumber I needed in the middle of a snow storm. 

He is responsible for finding my dining set from Morocco, at a fraction of its price.

He is man who put some money in my pocket when I sold all my daughters baby gear.

I have never met Craig, but like many other real estate professionals I owe him!

Single handly, the creation of Craigslist has change how housing is found and advertised, WORLDWIDE!

Where else on earth can you, find a mate, buy or rent a house and furnish it all in one afternoon?

Only on: www.CRAIGSLIST.com

Smooth talking swindlers selling real estate!

There are lots of bad people taking advantage of people who are down and out in this current real estate market.

This is one of the easiest to spot scams out there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq5jdlG27uA

Don’t let his smooth talking cowboy from 1965 think he can sell you some ocean front property in Arizona.

Arizona is landlocked!

I may be able to help you find some ocean front property on the North Shore!

We are rebating back 50% of our Commissions!

www.DIAMONDDISTRICTre.com

Give us a call at 617.674.2977.

We service the communities we live in best!

Lynn, Swampscott, Nahant, Salem and Marblehead!

Going green is “sexy” in real estate!

Going green is “sexy” in real estate!

 

fabio

 

“Going Green” or “Green” is the new catch all word to many in the world of real estate. 

 

http://www.geocities.com/asianprince_213/ 

 

 

People want to impact the environment less and make less of a carbon foot print. 

 

A perfect example of a true green community is in Peterborough New Hampshire.  

 

http://www.peterboroughcohousing.org/

 

I could see myself actually living here!

 

The homes are nice. 

There is a sense of community with the shared community chores and common meals. 

Check out the link above!

 

 

More communities like this will be springing up in the near future!

 

The current real estate and economic changes call for more efficient means of housing.   People are altering thier housing and  lives to adapt.

Surveys say: People think Real estate agents ….(insert bad word here)

I came across this article from a fellow real estate blogger and he summed up it perfectly!

http://activerain.com/blogsview/1034706/Survey-SaysRealtors-Suck

Consumers are demanding changes.

How agents adapt to them will determine their future success.

The bottom line seems to be the same.

People want results while saving money.

I am confident in the future there will be a lot more “fee” driven services.  Agents will be paid a flat rate and not percentage  fee.

I plan to roll out a stronger  fee based only structure in the future.

I have had this one in place for the past 3 years.

http://www.baystaterentals.com/aLaCarte.html

Aren’t we all a bit of a discount broker in this market?  Its the way of the future.

How we embrace the change determines success.

Buy the ugly house!!

I am sure we have all heard this saying from a parent or elder at one time in our life.

“Buy the ugliest house in the best neighborhood”.

This real estate advice is tried and true.

You can always fix up the ugly house over time!

You cannot however; fix the school systems, public infrastructure and crime rates over night.

They can be fixed with time,community involvement, and neigborhood residents vested in the area willing to make a change!

There are also many great real estate deals in up and coming neighborhoods!

Give us a call at 617.674.2977 and we will rebate back 50% of our commission if you purchase a home in: Swampscott, Nahant, Marblehead, Lynn and Salem!  Offer expires on 07/09.

This rebate is our way of reintroducing ourselves to the North Shore!

As homeowner, landlord, investor (and mom) in the North Shore and Cape Cod since 1998, I have first hand knowledge many novice brokers lack!  Prior to that I was a homeowner and investor in WI!

Not everyone loves dogs???!! especially Landlords….

Sorry I am not a dog lover…

As a child I had to spend hours upon hours hiding in the woods, while my Dad who was in the state police trained drug and rescue blood hounds.

I also had to take care of these slobbering beasts.

Blood hounds are not the sharpest dogs (at least the ones we had weren’t) and we always ended up with the rejected ones that the state could not use, as family pets.

Which brings me to……………

 

There are many responsible dog owners in the world.  It is the irresponsible dog owners who ruin it for everyone else.

Dogs bark. They can disturb tenants and neighbors. I had a tenant move once because of a homeowner let her dog bark on and on!

Dogs can break stuff and damage flooring.

Some pet owners do clean up after their pets.

Insurance companies will not write a homeowner/renter/landlord with an aggressive breed dog. (ie. Pit bull) Aggressive breeds may bite and attack people.

I,  like many other landlords am not willing to take on the risk of whether or not a prospective renter is a responsible pet owner.

Mr. Kitty, however is always welcome!

Emmett the Irish water spaniel is my dad’s new pet.

 

How do 2 girls with no kids owe over 65k in child support???

Ten years ago my childhood best friend and I decided to buy some condos that were in Lawrence MA.

We held onto our condos for a few years and then we decided it was time to sell them.

We sold them at the start of the real estate boom, to the first investor we showed them too.

The units treated us well while we had them.  We had great tenants and were set to make a handsome profit when we sold them.

At closing we were told there was a defect/lien on the title.

How did we want to settle up with it?

The person who had sold us the condos owed over $65,000 in back child support.  He was so delinquent to the point where his property had liens placed on them!

Somehow the liens were not removed when title had been transferred to us.  Since we had bought them outright “technically” we were liable for any liens on the property!  We knew we were not liable but the buyer did not know so!

The city of Lawrence recorded the lien for the prior owner after we had taken ownership of the property.

All ended well as the error was reversed.  We had a few moments of nervousness and a delayed closing but all went as planned!

One never knows what one will encounter in a real estate transaction!

In order to introduce ourselves to the Lynn area community Diamond District Realty is offering 50% of their commission when a home is purchased in: Lynn, Salem, Nahant and Swampscott! You need to close on or about July 1, 2009. The property purchased needs to have a purchase price of 250K. If the property is between 80k and 250k the rebated commission will be 35%.

Why 50%?

Well it the best deal out there that we can find!

So here we are….!

www.baystatere.com

Give us a call at 617.674.2977

So your neighbor is going to jail????

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Bernie Madoff ruined the lives of many.

A local neighborhood I know of has own their own version of a Bernie Madoff.  A local woman was arrested for embezzling over 1 million dollars! 

http://fraudbaron.com/blog/2009/02/11/woman_charged_in_12m_embezzlem/

The house has sat empty since the czar who “owns” it has been arrested. The “owner” of this home has been declared indigent and is enjoying a court appointed lawyer, so mortgages, taxes, etc are not being paid. She will owe her victims a lot more than the mortgage.  In the past she has embezzled money from the elderly and is a repeat offender.

The house is not currently in foreclosure since all foreclosures were halted this winter nationally.

Once the house sells it will not sell for what is left on the mortgage.  The victims will not be paid for a while, if ever.

The new owner of the home will benefit from a hotel style pool and high end kitchen as an added perk!

Who is going to take care of the lawn while court proceeding are going on?

The neighborhood is full of house proud people, so neighbors will mow the lawn so that the home will not become an eyesore.

Truth is told the neighborhood is glad to see the small town Madoff-neighbor go! Very glad!!!

No Lawyers or Kids wanted!!!

This is an email a real estate agency in Boston sent to me, today.  (I have deleted their name)

Often offices share listings.

See anything a bit discriminatory in it???

Lead: OUR UNITS ARE NOT DE-LEADED!!

You Take: RHA applications, Copy of ID, Letter of employment and Credit check w/Deposit(s). Make all checks payable to XXX XXXX Realty, LLC.

No undergrads, Lawyers or Law students. Grads or Professionals only.

We: Approve your client and prepare leases. Lease signings are to be done at our office with or without your presence.

No undergrads, Lawyers or Law students. Grads or Professionals only.

I guess they don’t like lawyers!

Many landlords refuse to rent to law students and lawyers. This  is NOT illegal!

What is illegal……..

Massachusetts law states: that property need be free of lead paint, if children under the age of six are to reside in it.

Federal and state laws make it illegal to deny housing to anyone with children.

The way this ad is written seems unwelcoming to families doesn’t it???

I wonder why this agency seems so brazen about breaking housing laws! (and then to put their requests in writing)

Karma will come back.  In the form of a grad student, who changes her major to law and decides to have a baby, whilst living there!