The Bad News Media is hard at work every day. Economy stinks. Lenders are going under. Company earnings are in the toilet. Builders are in trouble. Homes are not selling. The list goes on and on.Well, I don't know much, but I do know this. For a fact.On the buyers side. I have a client. We wrote on a house. 3 other offers on it. We found another. 2 offers on it. We found a 3rd yesterday. Only 1 offer on it. We wrote fast. On the sellers side. I looked at my history for the last 30 days. Of my listings that are under contract, 4 of them had multiple offers. One had 5 offers on it.I don't know much, but I do know this. Somebody is buying. Kevin McGrathThe Wallace & McGrath TeamColdwell Banker Elite"Selling Homes In The Fredericksburg Virginia Area"www.fredva.com  01/18/2008

The City of Fredericksburg, Virginia is basically in the middle of Richmond and Washington, D.C. It takes about an hour to get to Richmond or Washington, D.C. (non rush hour) on Interstate 95. The City of Fredericksburg is surrounded by Stafford County to the north, Spotsylvania County to the south and King George to the east.   01/13/2008

Commitment. Websters Dictionary defines the word "commitment" as "a pledge or promise; obligation." This is by no means the only definition, but it is certainly the one that comes to mind for purposes of this post.This mornings Washington Post carried an article by Elizabeth Razzi in the Business section regarding the need for borrowers to cough up more cash for down payments.I invite you to read the complete article; the link is above. The basic storyline in this very well written article explains how a "declining market" flag by the lender was enough to sink the boat at the last minute on this home purchase. The sentence that caught my attention was "They were one day away from closing, but the deal fell apart when their lender, USAA First Mortgage Origination, notified them that, bec... 01/13/2008

Today, my daughter and I took one of our daddy/daughter walks through historic Fredericksburg. Everytime we go it brings back childhood memories. I grew up in Stafford and Fredericksburg is where you went shopping. We didn't even have a grocery store in Stafford when I was a kid.On today's trip my daughter, Sydney, was the tour guide. We went to the stores that she wanted. Her favorite store is the Cat's Closet. This shop has everything pertaining to cats. They even have 3 cats living in the store. Next door, to the right, is our friends jewelry store called Bejeweled Designs. It's a great name for her store since her name is Christine Jewel. She makes a lot of her own jewelry. I was informed, before Christmas, by my wife that she carries Pandora bracelets. I got the hint.It was a littl... 01/03/2008

  "America's most historic city." My wife and I bought our first house in the City of Fredericksburg. It was on the old VEPCO Canal, now called the Fredericksburg Canal. Fredericksburg is another historian's dream. Capt. John Smith sailed up the Rappahannock River and literally left his markLand where city was founded was patented in 1671George Washington's mother, Mary, and his sister, Betty were residentsFive Revolutionary War genreals lived here as well as John Paul JonesPresident James Monroe's law office is a museumThere were many Civil War battlesThis list could go on and on. Here is a list of historical books about the City of Fredericksburg. This is not an exhaustive list, there are many more in and out of print. Also, there are many books on the genealogy of Fredericksburg fami... 01/02/2008

When tragedy touches our lives, none of us knows exactly how we will handle it.  We certainly never think a tragic accident will leave us unable to do what we take for granted everyday - giving our children a hug, tying our shoes, bathing, eating a bowl of cereal or driving to the grocery store or to work.For those of you who have been selling real estate for any length of time here in the Fredericksburg area, you may know a very good family friend (and I am proud to say, my neighbor), Al Sharp.  Al deals primarily in commercial real estate and is affiliated with Johnson and Glazebrook in Fredericksburg.Back in July, 2007, Al suffered a traumatic injury from a boating accident and suffered nerve damage which has left him a quadriplegic.  While the doctors (and most importantly, his fami... 12/12/2007

Power on. Power off. A transaction that could and should be smooth, but I found out today that that it not always case. Case in point. I have a REO listing, and the power was on. Potential purchaser presented a contract, it was ratified, and all was well. Or so I thought. Potential purchaser decides at the 11th hour to back out. Of course, they do this AFTER they have called to switch the utilities.Today I get the mail, open an envelope from the electric company, and there, at the top, it says "Closing Bill."So, I stop what I am doing, call the electric company, sit on hold for 20 minutes, get cut off, call back, and finally get a human being on the line.Bottom line, potential purchaser called, switched utilities, backed out of the contract, called back to the electric company, cancelle... 12/10/2007

I needed some HOA info for one of my listings. No much info. Just a little. So I looked the HOA up on The Google, found their number, and gave them a quick call. Hi there, how are you, bla bla bla, my name is so and so, and I have a listing in the neighborhood, and I would just like to verify that the monthly HOA dues are in fact "X". Simple, right? Apparently not. I was informed that I would need to fax in my request. After a bit of silence, fueled by my stunned disbelief, I got their fax number, and bid them farewell.So, a Homeland Security issue? Are they worried that once I verify what I think I already know, that I will use that information to infiltrate their organization, install my own officers, and wield horrific powers from behind the scenes?Every time I think I have seen it a... 12/04/2007

The Presidential election - coming at us like a freight train. Lots of rhetoric, lots of issues. This year, it seems like there are some pretty high profile issues. Are they more high profile than in recent years? I don't know; time has a way of shading our memories.But every year, the country gets all wound up, the news media gets all wrapped up in coverage, a ton of money is raised, and spent, by the various candidates, and then - only about 60% or so of the eligible voters turn out.What gives? Do people not care? Do they think that one person can not make a difference?In a prior life, I managed a number of companies with 60-80 employees. When election time rolled around, I announced my policy. If an employee wanted to vote, they would get time off to do so. WITH PAY. My idea was to j... 12/03/2007

A busy Saturday afternoon. Shopping and general errands. Traffic. Lots of traffic. Kids in the back seat. Bored kids. In the front seat, grown up discussions. Money. Career. Politics. Grown up stuff. In the back seat, well, I am not sure what is going on back there. Not really sure that I want to know.The rest of the story sort of hinges on the reader having more than a general knowledge of the early works of Elton John. I mean, the really good stuff, when Bernie Taupin was writing it. Not the Lion King years.As we were up front, conversing about what we considered were important topics, apparently all conversation had ceased in the back seat, in what I hoped was an effort by the younger generation to benefit from our years of experience and our worldly knowledge. Not to be, as in a mom... 12/02/2007

Today I decided to switch banks. Now, for those of you who have ever undertaken this task, you know that this is not a decision reached lightly. It is a royal pain, for a number of logistical reasons, and in the end, you end up running two accounts for a while.Why would this fool make such a rash decision, you may well ask? Well, I can assure you, it was not without great thought. I have been with this bank, a major name bank, for well over ten years. Then, out of the blue, they close the only branch close to my house. Then, when I do go to the next closest branch, it is a 20 minute wait in line.Time to go, my time is important to me. It is all about convenience.And then I started thinking. Am I convenient enough for my clients? If not, will they make the same decision?I wonder. I wonde... 12/01/2007

I think Bank Sale Homes are a great opportunity. Often, when I get an offer on one of my bank owned listings, it will have a very "aggressive" closing date.If you are on the buyer's side, there are a couple of questions you might want to think about when writing the offer. "Does your client realize that this is a bank sale, and that the bank needs to ratify this contract, and that it is not like John Q. Public's home down the street where I can drive over and get a signature tonight or tomorrow ?""Does your lender realize that you are expecting to close so soon, and do they know it may take a bit of time to get ratified ?"Early on, I learned, after I got an offer and then the meltdown began. Took a week to get it ratified by the bank, and then then the buyer and the lender had the Deer ... 11/29/2007

The Fredericksburg Christmas parade is Saturday December 1st.  It starts at 5:30 and usually lasts a few hours.  It is always a lot of fun for both kids and adults alike.  It starts on Caroline Street by the Visitor center, goes  up Amelia Street and down Princess Anne Street (my office is on that corner so wave!), ending at the Courthouse.  Be sure to leave plenty of time for parking and shopping before the parade.  Most people like to set up thier chairs a few hours before hand to get a good seat.  There are usually about 150 floats and bands.  There will not be parking available on those streets and other roads are usually blocked so plan ahead!  Hope to see ya there!   11/29/2007

There are many agents in my office. This is a story of two of them. Agent #1 - I see them in the office on a fairly regular basis, not all the time, but enough to have a relationship. They come by, they talk to a number of agents, and agents in the office generally know what their listings are like, and quite often, since they participate in the office caravan, many agents have been in the house.Agent #2 - I know them by name only. The only reason I would recognize them is that I looked them up on the company website. They have listings, I'm sure, but I know nothing about them.Now, I know we are independent contractors, and I know that many of us work from home, and that's great. And I want to pre-empt my next comment with the statement that I am not advocating the steering of clients a... 11/27/2007

Why do I live at LAKE ANNA?  Sometimes I am asked this question. When you select a place to live just because that is where you want to be people are often curious as to why. No career moves brought us here and no children or parents required my husband or me to be here. We are simply here because it is exactly the type of place both of us have imagined as an ideal home. We each had our separate dreams and desires but they all added up to being near water.                            For us, Lake Anna was the perfect choice. We loved the location, the peacefulness, the rural character of the surrounding area, and definitely the size and beauty of Lake Anna. I have called Lake Anna home now for fifteen years. This is the longest I have ever lived in one spot in my entire life. I cannot th... 11/26/2007

Short Sales. They are certainly out there, and they bring with them another level of frustration. I find that no matter how clearly I explain to a client that the waiting process can, and probably will, be long and frustrating, and no matter how frequently I provide regular updates, they still call for updates. That's cool; I'll worry when my phones STOPS ringing. So the wheel goes round and round. I call the listing agent, who calls the bank. I'll bet (I don't know for sure) that a number of these listing agents have a script. "The buyer is going to walk if we don't get them an answer." Or something to that effect. The bank then (hopefully) starts scrambling to get something done. Or maybe they don't. It is sort of like when Dorothy gets to Oz - and the Wizard is behind the curtain. Wh... 11/26/2007

Last night I watched Oceans 13. Man - those guys are cool. And I am sure there was a plot in there somwhere, although I never really figured it out. When you watch that group perform, it is not really about the movie, or the plot, it is about those guys hanging out and being cool. But you never really figure out what they are doing.I wonder if our clients ever feel like they are watching Oceans 13. We go in with a slick listing presentation, we wow them with facts, figures, and marketing ideas, we stick a sign in the yard, and then we go away.Watching this movie made me realize more than ever how important it is to have clear and concise communication with our clients. We must stay in regular contact with them, and must make sure that they are invested in our movie and that they truly u... 11/25/2007

One of the great things about the internet is that we can now complete many tasks, including some of our continuing education, from the comfort of our own home. One of the worst things about the internet is that we can complete many tasks, including continuing education, from the comfort of our own home.As I was faxing in my registration form to our local association, an agent saw me doing this and asked me why I was wasting my time, and why did I not just do it from home.I thought about it over the next few days. Honestly, in the past, I had always done it from home. Then, on a whim, I took one course given by our local association. I got the same credit, but I got so much more out of it in person than I could have online.Spending time with my fellow realtors is one of the most satisfy... 11/24/2007

I wrote a contract this morning. Yes - that in itself is cause for excitement and celebration. But there is more to it than just that.1. The home had only been on the market 4 days.2. The buyer showed up with his checkbook in hand (that does not always happen).3. The buyer showed up with their Pre-Approval letter in hand.But most importantly, for me, was the fact that on a Saturday morning in November, all of the conference rooms in our office were taken, and two agents were meeting with clients in their cubicles.I am a firm believer that activity is momemtum. People are looking at homes, making offers, and filling up my office on a Saturday morning. It has been a while since we have seen this level of activity, and I love it. 11/24/2007

REOTRANS. I signed up. Seemed like a pretty good deal, and fairly cost effective. For those of you unfamiliar with it, you sign up, and supposedly you get the opportunity to get BPO work.So - I am testing the structeral integrity of my couch the other night about 10:00 PM - and my phone notifies me that there is an email. I look - REOTRANs - A NEW BPO ORDER IS AVAILABLE IN YOUR AREA. LOG ON TO REOTRANS AND BLA BLA BLA...........So - I leap into action. I dash across the room to my office, log on to REOTRANS, and........There is nothing there.OK - so I missed out. No big deal I guess. I have plenty of work; it was more of an exercise in curiosity.Last night. I am working at my desk at home. I get another email from REOTRANS. I log on to REOTRANS. Remember, I am already on the computer. A... 11/21/2007