Archive for 'Real Estate'

The Four Values of Your Home

Issue: May 2013 by .

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Are you ever amazed by the things some people don’t know?  Just the other day, I talked to someone who had never heard of “Good Times.” I mean, really? J.J. Walker? Dy-no-mite?  It wasn’t ringing any bells. I know, I know … there’s that adage about why we should never assume, and the clever and unflattering results [...]

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Dispelling Myths about Bank-Owned Properties

Issue: April 2013 by .

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There’s a certain rhythm to working with people, a certain cadence that their thoughts and actions end up taking. If your particular industry or service involves interacting with people—specifically if it involves informing or educating them—you already know this. Over time, eventually a pattern emerges. In my world, for example, let’s take home buyers. There are a [...]

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Your Emotional Bottom Dollar: Why “Low Ball” Offers Usually Don’t Work

Issue: March 2013 by .

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Everybody likes a bargain. We all want to feel like we got a good deal on something.  So we use coupons, we watch for sales, we take advantage of special offers and we try to pay as little as possible for stuff. This mindset works great when we’re buying from a company or a public [...]

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Everything Comes Full Circle: Lessons from my time with “The Band”

Issue: February 2013 by .

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My senior year of high school, I played in the jazz band. I played piano, which is why I never opted for the marching band (lugging a piano around a football field is just impractical). I don’t mention this so you’ll know how cool I was back then. I bring it up because there’s one [...]

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(Semi-)Professional Projections for the Real Estate Market in 2013

Issue: January 2013 by .

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By the time you read this, we will be a few weeks into the new year, and our resolve to make all things new will either be holding fast or fast evaporating. But as I write this, we are in the waning days of 2012—a time when we naturally reflect on the year just past, [...]

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On Pancakes and Possible Civic Centers: An Op-Ed Piece about Lynchburg’s future, sans-Sears

Issue: December 2012 by .

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I’m a dad. My wife and I have two kids (and a third on the way).  Here’s the funny thing about children: a well-reasoned argument—one filled with facts and logical conclusions—doesn’t always work on kids. I remember a friend of ours relating a debate she had with a 5-year-old about pancakes. Adult: “Do you like [...]

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When Less Really Is More: The origins of phrases and the real estate market

Issue: November 2012 by .

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Do you ever stop to think about the origins of the phrases we use every day?  Take, for example, the phrase “less is more.” We know what it means, but where did it begin? Turns out, it’s a quote from an 1855 poem by Robert Browning entitled Andrea del Sarto: Who strive—you don’t know how the others [...]

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Home is Where the Females Are? The Rise of Single Women Homeowners

Issue: October 2012 by .

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I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. Her name is Julie (say “hello, Julie…”). In another life, I worked for a small private school where Julie and her sister both graduated. I’ve known her and her family for years, and while her parents have moved from the area, Julie has stayed.  She’s now [...]

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Sales Price vs. List Price

Issue: September 2012 by .

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98.6, 95.3, 93.7, 96.5 … What am I talking about here? Well, one of these numbers is a fact you already know—the average human body temperature.  One is a statistic you probably couldn’t care less about (the average high temperature in El Paso, TX in June).  One is the radio dial to KHF, Lynchburg’s new [...]

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To Rent or to Buy? That is the Question

Issue: August 2012 by .

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Back in the day, young couples would work and save, eventually putting away enough money to buy a home. Now, however, with the economy in its current state, sometimes it’s hard to know which is better—buying a home or renting one? “If a person is going to be in a certain area for a short [...]

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