Seperating the Pros from the Amateurs in Real Estate...

This current real estate market can all be summed up with this statement from one of the great real estate investors of all time, Sam Zell.

"First you Have the Investors, Then You have the Imitators and Then you Have the Idiots".

Sam tells you like it is and he expects his employees to do the same. They don't kiss butt like some other TV hound hogs wanting to tell the world how great real estate is to always buy and that it always goes up in price. In fact... most people don't even know who Sam Zell is and that includes a lot of real estate agents. Check this interview out and what one of the current employees told the HR director for Sam's company --> …

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Changes in Las Vegas Real Estate

I first earned my Nevada real estate license and became official in July of 2001. Just to give you a recap of what happened that year, the United States was in a recession. The stock market had taken a big hit with the Dot.com bust in 2000. My dreams of retiring by 32 went down the tubes as I watched my stock charts sink like the Titanic with the hope that it was something only temporary and that some lifeboats would magically appear and rescue them from the Abysss.

Yep... I lost a lot of money following stock picks from the so called experts in the name of Money Magazine, Smart Money, AOL forums (remember those?) etc... I learned from that experience and learned from one of Peter Lynch's books that if you are reading…

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Mountains Edge Bank Owned Home

Hmmmmm.... Normally I do not highlight the great Foreclosure deals going on in Las Vegas openly and reserve this for only clients but this Mountains Edge Home I came across today makes me want to break my rules just to show you what is available in this great community located in Southwest Las Vegas.

It's not uncommon to hear the horror stories of Las Vegas Foreclosures that are trashed, stripped, beat up or just plain out dirty and while there are some Las Vegas Bank owned homes that fall in that category, there are some great Las Vegas foreclosures that do not. You just never know unless you get out there and look -- something that I've been doing with a long list of interested Las Vegas buyers that see the opportunity…

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My Goal,

Over 1,000 real estate agents promoting alternative energy concepts for their respective areas. In case you do not follow the financial news like I do, you may have missed all of the T. Boone Pickens commercials on the business channels concerning a plan to help the American economy.... specifically called the Pickens Plan.

Regardless of what you might think is going on concerning the United States Economy, the fact of the matter is that approximately $700 Billion dollars a year is leaving the United States economy A YEAR for our Oil needs alone. Right now we are renting... and all real estate agents should know that eventually, renting is going to cost you money. (Make Sure you watch the Video Below.)

I posted a blog post over at Active Rain…

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Sellers want to sell, buyers want to buy and real estate agents get the honor of dealing with overworked asset managers for the banks. Even in a perfect scenario that is a win-win situation for everybody, it could all be a waste of time for everybody involved.

This post on Active Rain by a Real Estate Broker  who gets paid by the New York Times to write for About.com highlights the problem in this post ----> Bank of America would rather let the home go into foreclosure.

Obviously, short sales are becoming the norm in areas that are being hit hard with real estate values that have dropped significantly and banks are certainly becoming more receptive in approving these hardship situations if you follow their procedures. Banks are currently slammed with a…

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Here is a quick summary:

For years the EJ&E Railway  has been a responsible company that has kept freight train traffic cutting through the Northwest Suburbs and other communities to a minimum due to the fact that every freight train that comes through has an impact on the communities in one form or another.

The Canadian National Railway Company is seeking to capitalize on the opportunity to take a railway with minimal traffic and to invest $100,000,000 into it to turn it into a major railway with intentions of increasing the traffic from maybe 3 to 5 freight trains a day to 20 freight trains a day.

Of course, the CN Railway Co. would like to make the case that their intentions are to improve the congestion of major freight train hubs in Chicago (you…

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It's great to have good news to share with all of the gloom and doom out there in the real estate world so I thought I would share some New Inverness Home statistics.

Chicagoland
 

Model Name: Marquis
Subdivision Name: Creekside at Inverness Ridge
Builder: KB Homes
  Period    Price    (%) Apr 07 …

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I'm not a Real Estate Attorney and I'm not going to pretend to be one but a conversation I had with a homeowners lenders representative today gave me a really good understanding of what may be happening to other homeowners facing potential foreclosure.

First of All - ALL States have different Foreclosure Proceedings. The foreclosure process for a homeowner in Nevada is certainly different then the foreclosure process in Illinois and I highly suggest that you read and understand the foreclosure process. My conversation with a representative from this particular lender certainly made me aware that when the lenders representatives call, they may be giving the wrong time frames and process of foreclosure.

The conversation and the information relayed to me…

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