Don’t Forget that Home is the Setting for Your Story
"What was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher?"
14 Fun Spins on Buyer Objections
An ethical Realtor is careful not to spin something into an untruth. And a successful Realtor is circumspect about exaggeration, obfuscation and salesmanship.
Suspend Your Shoes-Off Rule When Showing Your House
Asking people to take their shoes off is off-putting, inconvenient, truly unnecessary and unsightly. (Nothing says “welcome” like a big pile of stinky shoes scattered around the foyer.) And you want you buyers to feel at ease, not vulnerable!
For Agents Only: Don't Count Your Chickens
It’s a pathway to disappointment if things don’t work out the way you hope they will.
For Agents Only: Talk Your Buyers OUT of Writing an Offer
Whenever there’s a strong emotional response from a buyer, encourage them to slow down and let the initial attraction cool. Then consider carefully.
Goose Bumps and Full Service Real Estate
And while my job as a Realtor can be quite lovely and even glamorous, there are always times when I have to improvise and do the job nobody else wants to do: Use a paper clip to unlock the bedroom door where an open-house visitor has inadvertently trapped the tenants’ cats. Clean up raccoon poop from the tradesway.
A KitchenAid Pro Mixer Lament
Just the sight of the KitchenAid pro mixer stirs the slurry of regret that lingers at the bottom of my heart.
This is Not My Beautiful House
Over my years of working with couples – in an up-close -and-personal manner that is not unlike that of a marriage counselor – I’ve learned that nobody has a perfect partnership.
Staging IS Rather Silly, Isn’t It?
Why can’t we do something more sustainable and real and commonsensical?
Working Girls (or Two or More is Like None)
Hooking up with two agents in San Francisco is like dating two people in a small town.
Wharton, Hemingway and Strange Houses
“Everything in the great empty house smelled of dampness: the stuffing of the chairs, the threadbare folds of the faded curtains, the splendid tapestries, that were fading too…”
Scrap the Sentimental: A Worthy Thanksgiving Tradition
When in doubt, simply throw it out.
Let the Whole World Belong to You
throughout history, there are and have been countless bloody conflicts arising from the acquisition of dirt. The claiming and defending of territory is one of the main causes of wars.
Dialogue: Closet v Bedroom, Drawer v Crib
"My crib contained a pillow with Karl Marx on one side and Engels on the other. It was Berkeley in the late 70s, after all..."
