(You'll  never look at the game  the same way again!)Starting  in 1941, an increasing number of British Airmen found themselves as the involuntary guests of the Third Reich, and  the Crown was casting about for ways and means to facilitate  their escape...Now  obviously, one of the most helpful aids to that end is a useful and accurate map, one showingnot  only where stuff was, but also showing the locations of 'safe houses' where a POW on-the-lam could go for food and  shelter. Paper  maps had some real drawbacks -- they make a lot of noise when  you open and fold them, they wear out rapidly, and if they get  wet, they turn into  mush.Someone  in MI-5 (similar to America's OSS ) got the idea of printing  escape maps on silk. It's durable, can be scrunched-up into  tiny wads, and unfold... 02/16/2010

Today my office launched a new program for it’s agents called Business Development Groups, or “Hot Groups”.  These groups are aimed to help the agents in the group gain market share through a strategically focused effort that will hopefully enable our Agents to have a tremendous boost to their existing business. The point of the exercise is that is will help the office and our associates really go after a specific geographical farm where no one agent, or company for that matter, controls the market share.  Now that’s the business element of it.  But the coolest part is the accountability side.  Guess who the group members are accountable to?  You guessed it; each other! This morning, I have 8 agents who volunteered to be separated into 2 groups.  And I am so proud of them for undertakin... 02/16/2010

       Tonight I got the phone call that most, if not all, realtors love! Some clients that I really think the world of are expecting their second child! I am so happy for them because they are just wonderful people and great parents. The second part of the good news to me was when they said that their townhouse is now too small!        This couple has been looking at bigger houses since she was just three months pregnant with their first child, two years ago, but now, with the expected arrival in a few months of a second child, they are really motivated!  We are going to start looking in earnest for that perfect home! What a great reason to buy a new  home!   When you think about it, there are only a few reasons why most people buy or sell a home - and some are good to great reasons, a... 01/07/2010

I start each morning by checking my email messages and a few posts on Active Rain while I am waiting for the coffee to drip. This morning I read an blog by Dean Jackson which gives four great topics to blog about from www.realestateblogideas.com.  Dean noted that  1 person in 20 plans to buy a new house next year. I confess that my day brightened when I read that 1 person out of every 20 plans to buy a new house. I imagined myself walking through a mall this afternoon surrounded by potential buyers - Every 20th person I saw was going to be a candidate to buy a house. I was definately ready to start my day with such a motivating image. Intrigued by the website, I clicked through to it and saw that the title of article he had referenced from MSNBC actually was ONLY 5% PLAN TO BUY A HOME N... 11/12/2009

Welcome to the Finest Fully Accredited  District of Columbia  Online Real Estate School with the best prices available. Check out our website www.RowlettCareerSchool.com. Our passing rate meets or exceeds any other online course provider.  Get your District of Columbia Real Estate License here.  Captain Wayne Rowlett and the Rowlett Career School offer the finest online District of Columbia real estate school in the Industry. Please take a few moments to explore our site where you will find detailed information on our full service online real estate school and live classroom courses in Florida.     http://www.rowlettcareerschool.com/dc-district-of-columbia.htm                                             Home        FAQs       Career Info      Bookstore      General Info      About Us   ... 11/04/2009

Dear Buyer, You may have heard about the new changes in the appraisal laws for any Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgages which took effect recently.  Beginning May 1, the responsibility for managing home appraisals moved to a middleman, known as appraisal management companies or AMCs.Under new federal regulations, mortgage brokers and loan officers can't directly order appraisals. Instead, they are expected to go through third-party AMCs, which are supposed to prevent them from pressuring appraisers. One fall out of these new regulations is that there may be fewer indpendent appraisers since the majority of them will now be on staff.  This means they may not be as knowledgeable about the neighborhood and/or unique property characteristics.  This change also means that borrowers, mortgage ... 07/22/2009

  By Minh Pham, Mentor/Investor/Author, www.GuaranteeProfits.com   Manage Cashflow Undercapitalization Brings About Ultimate Business Failure: Inadequate start-up funding leads to many small real estate investing business failures.  Having too little money as your real estate investing business struggles to get off the ground can quickly lead to disaster.  Many real estate investing business owners overlook the time gap separating the ribbon-cutting ceremony from the first quarterly flow of profits.  Having only enough cash on hand for a few months rent and marketing costs will leave you vulnerable to unforeseen difficulties. It would also be a smart move to get investors (friends, family members, and others you might know) who would like to invest in your business for marketing and sta... 07/02/2009

youth pre-selected to promote the growth of red blood cells, enhancing the body's immune food. Such as the liver, red dates, eggs, kelp, beans, brown rice, and so on. Weak physique of girls, can be properly used for nourishing Medicinal Diet Sibu, such as angelica, Chinese wolfberry, Shude, and so on.   　　 adolescent against cyclical menstruation, within the glands, sebaceous gland, sweat gland function increased, the problem of increasingly mature, Touxie, black spot, acne, oily dermatitis, and so have appeared. At this point the women to fresh multi-Yang Gan, liver, eggs, lean meat, red dates, Chinese yam, lentils, etc., should avoid full-cream milk, fat, high-fat. Food seasonings to light more timely add iron, calcium, and more fresh vegetables and nuts, fresh and dried small shrimps... 10/13/2008

Washington, D.C Housing Market Report Statistics from June 1,2008 to June 30,2008 Total of the units that were sold were 550. 259 of the units sold:   1-30 days. 94 of the units sold:     31-60 days. 66 of the units sold:     61-90 days 31 of  the units sold:    91-120 days. 100 of the units sold:   Over 120 days. 49 of the houses sold were two or less bedrooms. 142 of the houses sold were three bedrooms. And 97 of the houses sold were four bedrooms. There were also 262 Condo,Coop and Ground Rent. Out of the 3524 Active listings,1898 are residential and 1626 are Condo,coop and Ground Rent. Type of financing used were: Conventional:    365 FHA:                  58 VA:                     1 Assumption:       41 Cash:                70 Owner Finance:    0 All Other:           15 Unreported... 07/10/2008

                                                          My brother Olakunle "Jay-K" Folayan is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. He always willing to help me anyway he can UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE. He is one of the few people that I can honestly say is willing to do anything he can to help me in succeeding. He received his Masters Degree with honors from Devry University about three weeks ago. He graduated with a 3.8 GPA ( Very impressive ).I am so proud of him and very happy for him. I taught my brother everything that he knows. ( I like to think I did ). He is now in the Navy now. He hated it at first (BOOTCAMP). But after being in the Navy for seven years now,he likes it. He has made friends and met people that he would've never met if he didn't join the Navy. And also j... 07/03/2008

Yeah! Finally I have a new picture.                                                            Now I am going to use this picture for now. I might end up taking another picture and put it in my profile. My last picture it didn't show me smiling. And I am a happy and fun-loving guy. But from my last picture,you couldn't tell. This picture is not great. But I think it is better than the last one I had here on Active Rain. But any advice on what kind of picture I should take on my profile? Me holding a baby? Me kissing a baby? Me holding a puppy? Me kissing a puppy? Me kissing Sanaa Lathan/Eve Mendes/Alicia Keys and/or Beyonce? Talk about having a fivesome. Is that even possible? ( Sorry readers. Please don't get the wrong idea. ) Or should I include a picture of my family? I am trying to ... 06/28/2008

I recently responded to a blog by one of many favorite bloggers here on Active Rain http://activerain.com/naoma So I noticed that I was one of the people that she tagged to write one. So he it goes Naoma. This one is for you and of course the rest of the Active Rain crew. 1. Who is your favorite musical artist? I don't have one anymore. I use to be a big Boyz II Men fan - I still like them. But I listen to more gospel music now. 2. Who is your favorite artist? I don't have one. Heck honestly speaking I don't know much about painting. We are talking about that kind of artist right? 3. Who is your favorite blogger? LOL. This is so unfair. This question should not be asked. But here are some of my favorites; Elizabeth Ramsey Cooper Golden Susan Mangigian Mary Douglas Gary White Betina Fore... 06/09/2008

                                                  Prince George's County has a newspaper called "Women's Journal". While reading the newspaper,something caught my eye. It said that Women account for over 85% of all consumer purchases 94% of Home Furnishings. 93% OTC Pharmaceuticals. 93% Food. 92% Vacations. 91% of New Homes ( I am not surprised at all ) 89% Bank Accounts 81% Auto Purchases 81% Riding Lawn Mowers. 80% Healthcare. 66% PCs. Women carry 76 million credit cards, 8 million more than men. In 2001,US women's purchasing power constituted the number 3 market in the world;the collective buying power exceeded the entire economy of Japan ( That's interesting ). By 2010,women are expected to control $1 trillion,or 60% of the country's wealth,according to research conducted by Busine... 06/04/2008

Most of the top producing real estate professionals who have been very successful in this business have a very effective marketing and business plan in place. Unlike some people who either plan and abandon it or dont plan at all,top producing real estate professionals always execute their plan.  So here are some reasons why some people don't plan  There is just not enough time to plan. Some people have never planned before,so why should I start doing it now? It is too time consuming. People make out a plan. But they just don't use it. But I believe that you can be very successful in your plans as long as you continue to plan and focus on the results. How are you going to get good business if you don't devise a plan that will bring your business? How do you approach someone about buying ... 05/27/2008

          Home equity - falls below 50%                                                    Just what we needed.  More bad news when most homeowners are struggling to keep up paying on their mortgages. Now this. For the first time on record since 1945,homeowners percentage of equity in their homes has fallen below 50%. After saying just this,I don't even know if I should even say more. But maybe reading this,some homeowners might want to put their homes on the market hoping to at least get something out of the selling their home before it is too late. And with spring approaching soon and more home buyers looking to buy a home,this would be a great time for home owners to put their house on the market who have been hesitant to sell but was not sure whether they should or not. Homeowners w... 03/06/2008

               Okay! So you are searching for a house for your clients to buy. You are searching on your local MLS until you come across a listing that you think would suit your clients wants,needs and lifestyle. The house looks great. Pictures looks so good you'd think Annie Leibowitz took the pictures of the listing. Virtual tour is courtesy of Point2Agent ( Shameless plug -Then again why am I even mentioning this company if I am not getting paid promoting them? ) Anyway,exterior and interior pictures of the house  looks very nice. So you and your clients go and view this property. On your way to the house,you are silently praying that they like this property because you have been working with themfor two years -two years too long if you ask me. What can I say some people just can't m... 03/05/2008

Every home buyer looking to buy a house aren't just looking for a nice place to call home. They are looking for more than that. When you are out showing houses to your client or when you are holding a open house for one of your clients,try to sell them as much as you can about the neighborhood. Doing that makes you look like a real estate expert in that particular neighborhoood. Clients will be impressed by your knowledge and they will feel very comfortable and safe that your are representing them as their buyer's agent or listing agent. So here are some of the things that you should really help sell your buyers and sellers on a neighborhood.                                                                                                                     SCHOOLS - A family moving to a... 02/25/2008

I just finished reading a post by Mrs.Tamara Inzunza Realtor -Alexandria,VA about your business plan which prompted me to review mine and see what I need to do to make it better. ( I track my business plan/goals every week ). Anyway,I was looking in my fast trac when I ran across this poem. It is by Edgar Guest. I really liked it. Sometimes things are not going our way and we need something to lift our spirits and motivate us. So I thought that I share this poem with you. I hope you all enjoy reading this.                                                                                                                EQUIPMENT                                       Figure it out for yourself,my lad                                      You've all that the greatest men have had,             ... 02/20/2008

    1. Learn how motivated the seller is to make a deal Certain sellers are going to be more willing than others to negotiate a low offer, and there are several giveaways that might indicate more leeway on the issue of price. For instance, if the sellers have already purchased another home and that sale has closed, they're likely to be more willing to make a deal, said Dick Gaylord, president elect of the National Association of Realtors and a broker with Re/Max Real Estate Specialists based in Long Beach, Calif. And certainly if the property has been on the market for a long time, sellers will be interested in entertaining any offers, he added. To get at as many seller details as possible, Gaylord gets in the ear of his or her listing agent. The nuggets of information he gets can be cl... 02/17/2008

Here are ten things you can do to improve your financial situation. Each one can easily be done in fifteen minutes and then forgotten about, but over time, these moves will slowly put significant money in your pocket. Think of it as an investment of time that continually pays dividends to your wallet. 1. Request a reduction in your credit card interest rate. Take your credit card. Flip it over. Call the phone number on the back. Ask to speak to a supervisor (when you finally get to a real person). Say that you're considering switching credit cards with a 0% balance transfer and ask if they can reduce your rate to keep you as a customer. It won't always work, but it'll work often enough to make it well worth your while. 2. Review your health insurance and other benefit choices at work. T... 01/02/2008