Beautiful New Listing in Deer Springs Glen Allen!

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We are so happy that Mike and Kara get to celebrate the new year in their new home!! I hope you make many wonderful memories in this house in 2012!

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New Years Resolutions are often forgotten and many times never fulfilled.  This year we want to challenge you to break the pattern.

On January 5th we will holding a Homebuyer Seminar with the opportunity to hear from the best about the buying process.  As a bonus we will also be offering up to $1000 in savings if you buy in 2012.  This has never been done before and is a once-a-year opportunity.

Please RSVP with Christy Smith at 804.545.4458 or Christy@gorichmondrealestate.com

Dinner will be provided

When: January 5, 2012 at 6:00pm

Where: 6600 W. Broad Street, Suite 150

    Who:  Tyler Rackley with Keller Williams Realty

            Greg Cowart with New American Mortgage

            Faisal Qureshi with Chaplin & Qureshi

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New Listing!

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We have moved into such a mobile web society that when the internet goes down everything pulls to a halt. This morning I arrived at work to discover the internet was down. There was almost nothing I could get done without connecting to the web. It was incredibly frustrating. It was almost debilitating not to have access to the interconnections of the world wide web. We have come so far in our technology it is mind blowing. It fascinates me to think it was just twenty years ago when the internet came into existence for the public. Not everyone had personal computers and some still even used type writers. Now everything has moved to the computer and nearly everything you need to complete a task, is online.

It is interesting to see how dependent we are on it. We are fast growing in our technology but sometimes it’s nice to think of day without the internet, without being “plugged in”. Taking the harsh, cold, machines out of the equation and just working on things with your hands sounds refreshing. I don’t necessarily mean working on things without the computer in office because sometimes that is not an option.  But when you get home and de-stress try to do it without the computer or TV. We spend long hours “plugged in” so sometimes it’s detoxing to walk away from it and remember things outside of the web. This gives you an opportunity to explore your critical thinking skills. Reading, cooking, exercising, talking with a friend, writing, projects etc. It revives the soul. We will always have things to google, emails to send, or excel spread sheets to create but there are times when we have to power down to recharge. I will probably still get frustrated the next time the internet goes down but I will try my best to enjoy my time away from the world wide web.

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Counting down the last couple days before Christmas, are you ready for it? The songs are playing, the tree is lite, the wine has been poured, and the gifts are all wrapped. Right? Some of you are knoding your heads in agreement but then others are shaking their heads no. Heck no! Are you feeling the stress and anxiety of the holidays?  Christmas only come but once a year. It should be a time for relaxing and celebration not struggle or stress. There will always be presents to give and money to spend. But Christmas will be gone before you can even finish stressing over it. Absorb every moment, enjoy the lights, listen to your favorite Christmas song (or not if you hate Christmas songs) and remember what this holiday means to you.

When I lived at home my dad always read the Christmas story (the one that comes from the bible) to us before we opened any gifts. He would then proceed to put on his Santa hat and sit by the tree rationing out the presents. We each had to take turns opening gifts; we would “ooo” and “ahhh” at the gift. Then be on to the next person with the next gift. Giving is a huge part of the holiday season but I would much prefer you write me a note and enjoy the moment then stress about what gift to give me. The holidays are a great economy booster but it becomes determental to our stress level and waist line. I have to remind myself that I cannot get everyone a gift, and I often find that the last minute stress over a gift turns out to not really matter any way.

Last weekend I went to a friend’s Christmas open house. I didn’t have a gift to bring her and I was starting to stress.  I grabbed a bottle of wine that I had bought for my boss, and took that. Well when we got to the party the women had gotten so many bottles of wine that mine was a needle in a hay stack.  I think not even the thought counted in this instance. I don’t think she would of cared what I brought she was just so excited that we had come. The food was delicious and in abundance! The open house was wonderful and now I have to go back to the store and buy another bottle of wine to replace the one for my boss. Sometimes you just have to learn to let things be. People would rather be with you then get a last minute gift that took time away from being with you. I am a people pleaser by nature so I’m repeatedly reminding myself that pleasing everyone is an impossible and silly goal.

Don’t be silly or set impossible goals this week. Find your happy place with the people you enjoy and stay there till you have to return to work next Monday. The day will be here and gone in a moment, so make sure you don’t miss the moment.

What are some of your holiday traditions?

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Congratulations to Shannon Scarbrough and Adam Stone on the purchase of their biggest Christmas present yet.

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Regularly I list short sale properties; with the right coordination of efforts, constant contact with the bank, preparing the Buyer to wait an extended period of time, and knowing what I believe the bank will accept or reject tends to lead to a successful closing.  A particular short sale has been ‘in process’ with Bank of America for about 2 months using the Equator system.  I have found that if you prepare your documents prior to request in Equator you can move the process very quickly.  In two months we have been HAFA approved, BPO and appraisal completed, and moved to negotiation.  We have a strong buyer and, in fact, this Buyer is a realtor who works for another broker in Richmond.  She is willing to wait… but what I found out about two days ago blows my mind.

It appears that Bank of America has sold this loan to a servicing company.  The details are unclear but what my initial research is finding out is that the short sale process must start over again.  Furthermore that the HAFA third party BoA uses is not the same as Specialized Loan Servicing.

It seems odd to me that BoA has sold this loan.  But according to SLS this is a normal process for them.  And they believe regardless of where we are in the short sale process we must start over.  Why?  No one at SLS really knows, and BoA won’t discuss the account any further.

It never ceases to amaze me how BoA runs  their business behind the scenes.  In fact, I feel ashamed to have my personal and business accounts with them because I know they really don’t do the “right thing” when the times get tough.  While I am one who doesn’t like overregulation by the government, I do think it’s about time that someone come and straighten these guys out.  Enough is enough from BoA. I believe it’s time to stop passing the buck and start taking responsibility.

Tyler Rackley

www.gorichmondrealestate.com

804.545.4458

Greater Richmond real estate agent

There was an article in the news this morning that the national transportation safety board is trying to pass a law that limits the use of mobile devices while driving. The most recent movement, if passed, would ban all non-emergency cell phone calls and texting of every driver of a vehicle on the road.

Is this idea extreme or necessary? I’ve heard of studies that claim people while driving and texting are more dangerous than people driving drunk. This thought scares me.  I think we can all admit to having a frightening driving moment because we were using our mobile devices.  But have we stopped using our cell phones while driving. Shamefully I have not. The thing is people who decide to drive home after enjoying to many alcoholic beverages will often, not always, try to be more conscious and even drive slower because they know they are already compromised. In comparison the cellular phone demands your concise attention leaving you to the death trap of the road. You cannot pay extra attention to your driving while under the influence of your mobile device, it’s impossible. Thus proving it is more reckless to drive while using your cell phone then it is to drive under the influence of alcohol.  I am in no way, shape or form, square or round, condoning drinking and driving. I am just merely driving home a point. Sorry I did not mean to make that a pun, but it is staying. Mobile phones should be something that adds connivance to your life not make you part of a statistic.

We cannot seem to grasp the severity of this situation. This is why the idea of a law that bans cell phone use while driving seems extreme but maybe necessary.   Cell phones have become a blessings and a curse to our professional and personal lives. We should be looking to things to do that add years to our life not take them away.

How do you feel about this subject? Do you drive while under the influence of your mobile device?

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“All you do is show a couple homes and write a contract.  Why should I pay someone 3% to do that?!”  To which I wanted to respond, “are you kidding me?”; I refrained from doing so.

I’ve come to realize that the actions of real estate agents are commonly misperceived.  The dialogue above was the recent conversation between me and a FSBO call I made.  I called to solicit the listing when I found out her marketing strategy contained a buyer protection and compensation of 2.5%.  The FSBO was telling me that as a Buyer agent we get paid entirely too much; a Buyer agent provides too little service for so much money.  Instead of lashing out (which could have been very easy to do) I responded with “I wonder why agents are leaving the business if it is that easy?”   She didn’t know how to respond.

You see, the thing is, agents don’t just show a few homes and write an offer.  In her mind that was probably the perceived value of hiring a real estate agent and her experience with her Buyer agent in the past.     If you’re reading this blog you know the immense amount of time you’ve put into this business in order to add a buyer to your list.  Sure, some come easier than others, and then some take months or years to develop relationships with.  If you are like me…. You see this business as something that doesn’t just provide for you immediate results.  This is a business that (at best) may take years to start growing.

When I see this FSBO on the market in a year or two I’ll have a laugh; I guess some people are just too smart for their own good.  Maybe in time they will consider that they should have hired a listing agent who understood the value of compensating a cooperating Buyer’s agent 3% (or more).

Tyler Rackley

804.545.4458

www.gorichmondrealestate.com

The 20/20 Team – Keller Williams Realty

Richmond, VA and surrounding areas