Recent tax updates are reinforcing something successful agents have always known: real estate isn’t just a job — it’s a business. Many professionals are surprised to learn that most real estate agents are classified as independent contractors. That means agents often qualify for business deductions that traditional employees cannot access. Recent tax changes have reinforced […]
Adjustable Rate Mortgages: Misunderstood, Misused… and Sometimes the Smartest Loan Choice
John Reilly used to pontificate at the annual CAR and NAR Conventions. I never missed a session. He could take complex regulations and make them simple. His books are benchmarks for the industry, especially The Language of Real Estate (8th Edition). I got mine 35 years ago. His education is impeccable. Ossining NY High School, […]
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is the biggest international baseball tournament in the world. Think of it as the “World Cup of baseball”, where the best professional players represent their home countries instead of their MLB teams. First played in 2006, and held about every four years, it features many MLB stars playing for their […]
It’s probably of interest to boomers who want to reminisce about the past. These three little cubicles look so lonely. Years ago, they held pay phones, and when a speaker at a seminar announced break time, we raced to get one—like an Easter egg hunt in elementary school. You carried quarters in varied containers. Then, […]
Had to renew my driver’s license recently. DJ got a reservation at the famous San Clemente DMV office, and I was in and out in a short time, renewing my driver’s license and applying for my Super ID. Why? Check the two lines in this photo. One extends way out the door. The other has […]
It sounds counterintuitive, but it’s true: Slow markets often create better real estate professionals. When the market is busy, people rush. When the market slows, people learn. This is when professionals have time to: Study contracts instead of memorizing scripts Understand disclosures instead of reacting to them Learn negotiation without constant pressure It’s also when […]
Daily we are barraged by politicians and others warning us of so many problems and the impending end of the world as we know it. They run the gamut from healthcare to immigration control, from abortion to guns, and it seems that the warnings differ greatly, and everyone accuses the other side of being liars, […]
Yesterday was the Super Bowl. Seattle won, by the way, but today is Discuss Super Bowl Ads Day. A yearly event, and yes, I watch the game with a legal pad. The best review of the ads is always done by USA Today. They use large panels of writers, critics, and regular people. I think they are […]
Sunday is Super Bowl LX or 60 to most of us. The Super Bowl is the one time of the year when I get to use my Roman Numeral Basics. I is one, V is 5, X is 10, L is 50, and C is 100. A numeral placed after a larger-valued numeral is added, and a […]
