Real Estate Education 101

Dual Agencies and why consumers should avoid them:

According to the Consumer Guide to Agency Relationships, a Dual Agency exists when the same agent and brokerage who represent the seller also represents they buyer. When a brokerage and its agents become dual agents, they must maintain a neutral position in the transaction. They may not advocate the position of one client over the best interests of the other client, or disclose any confidential information to the other party without written consent.

Sounds simple enough. Yet, the entire reason for obtaining the services of a Realtor is to protect your interests in any real estate transaction and get you the best deal possible. How can someone have a neutral position in a deal and still claim to be protecting your best interests? They can't, it's a huge conflict of interest. Someone, usually the buyer is going to feel taken advantage of in these deals since the agent works on commission.

I advertise that I don't do dual agency relationships for this very reason, and I never will. I don't understand why the state even allows them. Yes, every other Realtor out there (well, there are a few exceptions) will tell you why dual agencies are great. But the ultimate reason they do so is to capture the entire commission plain and simple. They can argue with me all they want about the benefits to their clients, but it ultimately comes down to money in their pocket, not yours.

Yes, I will show someone a property I have listed if they call and want to see it. But I make it very clear from the beginning that if they have an interest in purchasing the property after seeing it, that they will have to work with another agent to represent them.

If you work with an agent that performs dual agencies, you are doing a huge dis-service to yourself in what is probably the single largest investment transaction you will ever perform.

Protect your interests and just say "No" to dual agency agreements.

Vintage Computer Feastival 2006

For those of you over the age of 35, how many of these old vintage machines do you recognize? Makes me wish I had never sold my old Commodore Amiga 500!

Exit Realty Central - Fairborn Office

This is the Fairborn office where I work (when not working at home).

Exit Realty Central will also be opening a new office in Beavercreek in early October. If you're in need of a Realtor, or a Realtor in need of a new home, I'd love to show you around and what we have to offer. No matter what your needs are, contacting me may be the most profitable thing you do all day.

Stanley Fat Max

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Ever since I changed to Exit Realty Central I have been busier than I ever have been. Seems like every day is bringing me new opportunities. You may hear that the market is slowing, well, I am seeing things a bit differently.

I'm listing a duplex tonight and taking along my trusty Stanley Fat Max Laser Measurer. It is one of the best tools a Realtor can have in their technology tool box. I can measure a home in minutes. I've been using it since last year. An absolutely great product!

Just got Kyle home from a dental appointment (no cavities!) and getting ready to head out for the evening. I'll post more frequently, I promise.

Another Browser

Thursday evening, and finally a little free time.  Might as well download yet another web browser to play around with.

Yes, it's true.  I love Firefox, Safari is great and growing on me, so why not add Opera and see how my website and BLOG look on it?  You can't have too many free browsers, right?

So, I go to the Opera web site and download the software.  Hmmm, pretty easy so far.  It seems to install just fine on my Mac (I know, everything works better on a Mac, there, I said it!).  OK, loads up fairly quickly.  Whoa!  How cool is this.  And it's free?  Even better.  No 'Bill' to pay.

Amazing!  Isn't technology wonderful?

3 Years of Happiness

Today I celebrate my 3rd wedding anniversary to my wonderful wife Dana! We've been through a lot in the past 3 years, and I'm glad to have her in my life.

I Love You Dana!

I Have A New Home!

Hello everyone!

Well, as of yesterday afternoon, I have a new home to hang my real estate license in. I'm happy to announce my affiliation with Exit Realty Central in Fairborn, OH. I have talked many times in the past about how happy I am to be part of the Exit Realty Family and am excited about this change. Dana and I have a lot of family and friends in Greene County and anticipate moving there next year once the school year finishes for Kyle.

Dana and I have been busy working on our kitchen. We are taking out cabinets & counters this week and getting ready to start on the floor. It should look quite different by the time we are done. All the work is driving the dogs wild, they hate power tools.

BEOS Part 1

Probably one of the coolest OS's ever made. If you are currently running this on an Intel or AMD platform successfully, let me know. I have an old Pentium II machine that I would like to try it out on.

Rebate Hell Part 2

I would like to let you know that after a phone call to the Lowes store manager where we bought our appliances, Saturday we got a check in the mail from Whirlpool for the amount we were owed on the rebates.

Thanks to Lowes for helping us get our money and not brushing us aside to deal with the rebate firms alone. We appreciate your efforts.

Exciting News

OK, maybe it's exciting to me, but it's my BLOG anyway.

After talking with several eateries in the Englewood/Clayton area my team and I are happy to announce that we have selected Artisans Cafe in Englewood to do twice monthly Meet & Greets and talk to folks about real estate, real estate investing, and real estate careers. We are hoping to start in August, meeting from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM on the 2nd & 4th Wednesday of each month. The Davison Group will supply free coffee & snacks prepared by Artisans Cafe to those stopping by to chat with us.

We decided on Artisans Cafe because of the wonderful meals we've had there and the great service. They offer a very healthy alternative to most places, and have a great selection of vegetarian meals. I eat vegetarian several weeks each month to help control my weight and it's been great to go there and have so many choices to select from.

Teri and I are excited by this opportunity to talk to people about their real estate needs and answer questions that many of you may have, whether you are first time buyers or looking to make a change from your current home. If you're thinking about real estate as an investment, or maybe even a career opportunity, stop by and see what we have to offer. Oh, and if you want a great choice for dinner on those nights, grab a table and order a meal while you're there. Just remember to save room for the best ice cream in town!

West Alexandria Train Station

These photos are part of my story for The Register Herald in Eaton. Click here to read the story.

Click on any of these photos to enlarge them. Enjoy!

Cool Multiplication Technique For Large Numbers

This really works! You might want to share this with your children.

LifeHacker

Dana and I were shopping this week-end at one of the local mega-chain bookstores and I purchased a copy of Lifehacker: 88 tech tricks to turbocharge your day. I must say, it's been an interesting read so far, and two of the hacks I have read and started using more than justify the purchase price. You can also visit the Lifehacker website for daily updates and additional info that is provided for free.

I've started asking myself the question "But What Good Is It" when I think of technology and things I'm using in my business. Dana asked me this question a few years ago before I purchased something and now that I've started reading this book, I'm haunted by her simple question. I think I'll weigh my technology decisions against this simple question in the future. Sure, some technologies take time to mature and gain acceptance, but if you can pace yourself and limit yourself to a few technologies a year, you can still keep up and live a very happy, less cluttered life. With all of the hyperlinks in cyber space, it's easy to get caught up in all the excitement.

Flowers Around The House...

Rebate Hell

We are officially in rebate hell in The Davison Household. Over the past 7 months we have purchased many items that include a rebate, and we have gotten only 1 check back since then. Dana and I have both made several phone calls to the different rebate firms and can only seem to get uncaring individuals that have about as much interest in helping us as they do in donating a kidney. We are out over $700.00 as well as our time. Seems we are not alone in our struggles with rebates. Well enough is enough.

If you want my business in the future, don't try to get me to buy something based on price and then insult my intelligence by saying the low price is after a rebate, which we both know will never come. If you can't mark the item down in your store at the time of purchase, I'm probably going to buy from someone that will, or buy a different product that doesn't offer a rebate. We both know the rebate is never coming so why not buy the higher priced item, it's going to cost the same anyway. It's outright theft, and the retailers know it. Oh, and why not try to sell me an extended service agreement at the same time on an electronics purchase of $70.00 or less for $15.00, really insult my intelligence. Don't forget to try and sell me a magazine subscription as I'm checking out as well. That always cheers me up. Maybe your cashier is in Amway too and can get me into their down line and start making really big money like they are (this actually happened to me once) so I won't have to worry about the money I'm losing on rebate scams.

OK, off the soap box for now. It's time to feed the dogs anyway.

Tasty!

Dana has never cooked eggplant before, but last night we tried our own version of eggplant parmesan and it was INCREDIBLE! We prepared it with whole wheat pasta and my own concoction of pasta sauce and served it with Cesar salads. I was surprised that Kyle liked it, but he did and even had some of the leftovers for lunch with me today. Needless to say, we have a new top 5 favorite in our home.

We stopped by my sisters home for a while this evening to help her celebrate her 50th birthday!!! It's hard to believe she's 50, but it's even harder to believe I'm 41 as well. Lori, I'm glad you're my sister. We've been through a lot of good times and bad times, and we've always been there for each other. I'm glad we could help you celebrate your special day.

Monster Blue

The good folks at Monster Energy have a 10 calorie drink that rocks! I'm a coffee drinker (I don't do decaf, what's the point?) but lately even coffee isn't keeping me alert in the late afternoon. I've enjoyed Monster Energy drinks for the past few months, but cut back on them while trying to lose some weight. I knew they made a diet version but most of my local stores didn't carry it. Thankfully my local Marsh supermarket now has them in stock!

If you haven't tried their drinks, try one in place of a cup of coffee and see what a difference it makes. They taste great too. And no, I'm not paid to endorse their product.

iPhone But You Don't Answer...

OK, I've had this conversation with about 12 people in the past few days, and to set the record straight, I didn't run out and purchase an iPhone when it made its recent debut. I haven't even ventured to the Apple store to see what all the fuss is about.

Yes, I know, I talk about how much I love products from Apple to everyone that will listen. Yes, I think everyone should switch to a Mac (do you hear me in Redmond?). Yes, I will probably buy an iPhone at some point in my life. Just not now. My Motorola Razr does a fine job for me, and it has a great battery life. And, my trusty Palm Pilot is still alive and well, helping me keep my schedule and contacts with me at all times. Maybe I'm a bit nostalgic, but the day I get rid of my Palm Pilot will be a sad day. It's such a great tool that is truly user friendly. But, progress can't be stopped, and I love new gadgets. Sure, I could get rid of the Palm and do more with my Razr, but right now I don't want to. I like the larger screen it offers as well as being able to write on it.

By the way, did you know that the Safari web browser is available for Windows? I haven't downloaded it yet to try on a Windows machine here in the house, but I have read some good things about it, especially the speed it offers. Click here to be taken to the download site. Oh, just as iTunes is free, so if the Safari web browser. I use Safari and Firefox, but am slowly moving more towards Safari. I love Firefox and have used it for years. I can't see myself ever getting rid of it. It's tabbed browser is the best. As for Internet Explorer, I would rather eat dirt.

I'm A Real Estate Geek...

At least that's what Teri Lussier thinks when she mentions me in her blog The Brick Ranch and explains her decision to move to Exit Realty Partners. Hey, it's OK, I don't mind being called a geek as long as people realize I save them money on their commissions by being one.

Teri and I struck up a friendship after I found her BLOG. She has great content and I emailed her after finding it asking if she was interested in sharing ideas about technology and how it can be applied to real estate. I had no idea that she would move to Exit, but that's fine too. We are already chatting, bouncing ideas off each other. I have a listing coming up that I promised to take her on so we can both photograph the property and see the differences. It should be fun.

Yesterday was miserable hot so we spent the majority of the day hibernating in the air conditioning. Kyle had a friend over and with the exception of going out to dinner, we stayed in. I spent part of the day watching "The Real Estate Pros' on television. One episode in particular involved Trademark Properties opening a retail outlet in Charleston, SC. It was a neat idea, and one that I think other firms will be following in short order. I think our office could benefit from this idea, maybe we will change our office format in the future to allow something like this. It's really consumer friendly from what I saw.

I finally moved my Palm Pilot over to my Mac yesterday as well. It was quite painless, as everything has been using the Mac. The only thing that I haven't started converting are the databases I have on my PC. I plan on purchasing FileMaker Pro in the near future to see how difficult it will be to move Access databases. If it works as well as it's advertised, I should be able to say goodbye to Windows forever.

10 Things I'm Thankful For

With the recent loss of my mom, I've spent a lot of time thinking about my own life (I'm sure everyone does that with the loss of a loved one). My mom wouldn't want me to stop living and enjoying life with her passing, so I thought about the 10 things I'm most thankful for and thought I would share them here:

1. I'm thankful for my family, immediate and extended. I don't know how I would have gotten through the past month without them. Dana, Kyle, Dad, Lori & Rick, and Ray & Bev are my support system. Our extended family has been great, especially with their concerns for my dad and making sure he will be OK.
   
2. Friends. You never realize just how many people care for you until there is a crisis. I'm fortunate to be friends with so many great people.
3. Our pets. Maybe they should be included as family, but I think they deserve their own spot. Their love is unconditional.
   
4. A career I love. Work is the best therapy for me, and getting back to work has been a real blessing. It's not something I dread, and I feel sorry for those people that have to get up and go to jobs every day that they hate just to pay the bills.
5. Home cooked meals. So many people brought food to my dads house so we didn't have to do a lot of cooking or go for take out, it will be tough to eat out as much as we do.
6. Music. I would gladly give up watching television if I had to make a choice between it and music. It's an important element in my life, whether listening or playing. I can't imagine a life without music.
   
7. Apple Computer. They make great products that I use every day and make my life and work just a little more enjoyable.
8. The Internet. It's helped keep family and friends close and let us share pictures, emails and videos in a way that was never before possible.
9. Comedians. Life is serious enough, take time to laugh often and laugh loud.
10. Bookstores. If I were independently wealthy and never had to work another day in my life, I would spend several days a week at the various bookstores around the area reading, drinking coffee. and buying book cases for all the new books I just bought.