Friday, May 14, 2010

Acronyms. the Final Frontier!

I can't think of any other industry that utilizes acronyms more than the real estate business. We've got an acronym for every detail of work and every program coming down the pike.

Here are but a few acronyms that we use everyday to simplify the real estate transaction.

RESPA,HUD,BOM,COE,RPA,TDS,HAFA,HAMP,BPO,REO,NOD,NOS,LTV,DOM,WPA,AD,MOT,FISBO,SSA,CTNL and about a thousand others.

And you thought that real estate agents were overpaid to sell your home. The fact is, we are constantly being forced to change and modify everything we know every 30 days and we have to do it in shorthand.

If you can't go thru my list without being stumped, then you need to find yourself an agent who can. Especially if you are an agent.

So remember that agents are people too. With too little time to do so much for too many people. Hence the acronym.

Well I'm off now to TCOB. BFN. OAO.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Mini Trailers- The New Urban Blight!

I don’t have to ask if you’ve seen these obnoxious mini trailers parked all over our cities and towns. Once again creative marketers have found a way around the bans and restrictions on advertising. City legislators have done little or nothing to stop the proliferation of these unnecessary, distracting and generally obstructive little devils.

As of yet, I have not seen them being used by real estate agents, but I can’t imagine that they are not doing so, or at least contemplating it. I guess the law is vague enough to allow them to park these little trailers without any financial recourse.

I understand the attraction of them. For a modest investment, you can strategically place them in high traffic corridors and get FREE advertising at no cost. Just buy the trailer and off you go.

If we don’t put our collective foot down and ban these little gremlins, I’m afraid they will continue their unrelenting encroachment on legal street parking, such that it is, and multiply like a bunch of mutant tribbles. We need to let our government officials know that we find this affront unacceptable and demand the total ban of these street demons.

Are you with me?

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The Mysterious Disappearance of the Status Quo.

The mainstream media is so quick to point out change that too often issues and actions take a backseat to the now. The market is up today because of a fed announcement. The market is down the next with a bad jobs report. New homes sales increase, feel the updraft. Existing home sales slow, and down we go. Events cannot even take place before we have all the talking heads telling us what we saw. Oftentimes, we are now being told what to expect before the events unfold. "500,000 die in tsunami, wait a minute, that's 750, no 57." You get the idea. Or you don't. If you don't get it, someone will give it to you. There is no middle ground anymore. The Status Quo as we know it no longer exists. We've lost the present to the fleeting past and the onrushing future. We have lost time. Time to live, to enjoy and appreciate.

There's no time like the present. There's - no - time - like - the - present. That's because the present does not exist. All this convenience and speed of information has created mental morass and intellectual gruel.

We are trapped in the between, another dimension on the border of dissatisfaction and disorientation.

I say BRING BACK THE STATUS QUO. Let us relish in the moment, wander among the stars and cherish the next breath we take.

"Ad Hoc, Ad Loc & Quid Pro Quo, so little time, so MUCH to know!"

All Hail the STATUS QUO!

Monday, January 18, 2010

All the way home!

You have to wonder about the wisdom behind the dismantling of the Colfax Avenue Bridge in order to put up...you guessed it; another bridge! OK so it will be newer and probably stronger, although the old bridge looks like it could have stood for another 50 years or so with maybe some resurfacing every few years.

It's projected to take around 2 years to complete. The traffic snarl this has created will make commuting around quaint Studio City a real pain in the you know what. Perhaps city planning could have blocked the condification (my word) of our area which has greatly increased population density and vehicular traffic. Take a look at some of the pockmarked roads, the disintegration of asphalt and plain old potholes that now blanket our streets. The bridge will cost several millions of taxpayer dollars and will not improve traffic flow on that North-South corridor. I dare venture to say that those monies could have been better allocated for more pressing projects. Last year I lost one perfectly good tire to a pothole, around $300.00 for those low profile beauties on my car.

I believe there should have been a citywide referendum on an issue as important as this. Someone got a very lucrative contract. Someone went wee wee wee all the way home!