Category: Uncategorized

  A recent post in NPR’s Planet Money blog talked about how construction is up this year compared to last year — but that’s misleading because last year was so incredibly low. I made a similar point myself in a blog earlier this year, talking about housing sales in the Triangle. This year can’t help…

Last Tuesday I officially became a Competent Communicator! This designation means that I’ve completed the basic 10 speeches in the Toastmasters Competent Communicator manual. If you’re interested in becoming a better public speaker, Toastmasters offers a great program. There are lots of clubs in the area; you can choose one that meets at a time…

“A rising tide lifts all boats.” Is that how the proverb goes? By the same token, speaking of the current housing market, a falling tide lowers all boats. In practice, what’s happening is that sellers who also buy don’t fare so badly. Let’s say they’re selling their starter home for $175,000 and they end up…

FHA stands for Federal Housing Authority, and it’s been a very successful government program for decades. It has lower down-payment requirements than conventional loans, as well as more generous debt-ratios, more tolerant credit score cutoffs, and allows seller help and/or gift money to be contributed on the buyers’ behalf. Since the financial meltdown, FHA has…

Quite a few people entered the Valentine Drawing for the $100 mall gift card.    The actual drawing was done by Jon Nickel, over wine and appetizers at Winston’s.   He joked, “What if I draw my own name?” but he didn’t.  He drew Wayne and Leslie McPeters, long-time clients who live in Wake Forest.…

One of the best aspects of being a real estate agent doesn’t really kick in until after you’ve been in the business for a good  many years.  Who knew?   I’ve only recently — after 12 years — begun to appreciate how this career allows me to participate the American “Circle of Life” in a…