Who Said You Get What You Pay For?

I want to clarify that many people in my industry give away free advice all the time. Does this mean it doesn't have value? No! We do it to develop relationships. We know that if we can help friends, family, prospects, or strangers that it comes back to us in the form of goodwill.



I have written in the past that in California we can not charge upfront fees unless it has been approved with the Department of Real Estate. Therefore most of us represent buyers at no cost to the buyer and we get paid by splitting commission with the listing agent.



Yes this is tough especially during these times but our biggest reward is seeing people get ahead and achieve the American Dream. Once again I'll extend the offer to all of you. If you have a question regarding real estate feel free to email me or call me and I guarantee you'll get a good answer without any type of sales pressure.

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Green Job Seeker Passes Out Paper Resumes

I am watching the news and they mention this guy in Henderson, Nevada seeking a green job. The difference is that he was holding a cardboard sign along the road and passing out resumes.

I would think that someone looking for a green job would be think green also by submitting resumes online. Well maybe he used recycled paper.

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Raises During These Hard Times?

When a company is having hard financial times all of the employees and executives are asked to tighten their belts. Hiring and raises are frozen. They work together to get over the hurdle. This is how it should be but not when you are getting your money from the taxpayers.



In Sacramento they just awarded raises to staff of legislators. This is insulting to the taxpayers, especially for the 8.5% plus that are now unemployed. This is just another example of how legislators are out of touch with the citizens they govern. I have to rank this act of stupidity right up there with bonuses that AIG paid out. Oh yeah they also got their money from taxpayers.



They keep on saying that we only have short term memory and soon will forget these acts of stupidity. Let's prove them wrong and really show these guys that we do not like them spending our tax money. Vote these guys out of office and let's put some fiscally conservative people in office.

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No Dunkin' Donuts in California, What?

So this weekend I decided that I would try to see what all the hype was about Dunkin' Donuts' coffee. Then the shock, there aren't any in California. Any investors out there you might want to jump on a franchise opportunity cause I hear that during this recession people are choosing to get their coffee at cheaper places as long as it's good coffee. I guess I'll stick to McDonalds for now.

By the way Dunkin' Donuts has a promo on their iced coffee April 21, 2009. They are donating a percentage of their iced coffee sales to Homes for Our Troops. That would've have made a lot of money in southern CA because of the summer type weather we are having. Come on Dunkin' Donuts stop ignoring us here on the west coast.

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Obama's Latest Budget Cuts

Thank you Mr. President for trying. Cutting is definitely something we need in order to avoid future tax hikes. Obviously he is going to take a lot of heat because the cuts are a small fraction of the $3 trillion budgeted for spending.

I have an idea let's get as much money back from the bailouts and keep the current cuts and come up with some more. Let people choose where they want to spend or if they want to save their taxes. I suggest to save so that banks can conservatively lend.

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I Applaud Miss California

Too many times in this day and age we end up with well intentioned laws that result in an economic crisis because people are scared to speak their mind. In the Miss Universe pageant Miss California hesitated when asked what she thought about gay marriage. I am sure she hesitated because she thought should I say what I really feel or do I say what is politically correct and win this contest.

I applaud her for taking the high road and not taking the path of least resistance. A lot of you might disagree and turn this into a gay rights versus homophobia discussion but that is not why I am writing this. All I am saying is that I respect her for not being a hypocrite and taking the road of less resistance. For the record I don't believe the government should have any say who they recognize as married or domestic partnerships. If there are churches out there that want to marry gay couples then more power to you. Let people live their lives and let's not force our will on people.

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818 Area Code

Those living in Glendale, Burbank, and the rest of the San Fernando Valley please remember that now you must dial 818 to dial another number with the same area code. We now have an overlapping area code, 747. Some phone numbers will be duplicated. When dialing an 818 or 747 phone number you have to dial 1 + the area code + the number.

Another friendly reminder from Mario Villagran :)

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