trinacriabob

show off

obsequious

You're the first one to comment on this and maybe others think the same thing. I don't care. This thread is about real estate experiences. You own your own place and perhaps you can chime in on that experience, but not attack me. Have you been around the block, ocnblu? No. Sounds like PA and MD and a modicum of travel, and that's about it. I've lived in 9 different states and overseas, not to mention a ton of travelling and a few college sheepskins in different fields. I also speak 4 languages besides English to varying degrees of proficiency which I don't think I would expend to energy to do if I was narrow minded. You know what? You can stereotype, to some extent. Go over to Europe, they all stereotype each other...the Italians are this way, the Brits are that way, the Germans are this way...and they are ok with it and actually have some fun with it. They are no more prejudiced than we are...in fact, Americans are more narrow minded. We just try to act politically correct. There's an entire field called "social psychology" that deals with making inferences about groups and group behavior ... and people make a living as social psychologists. Heck, they even do profiling for "fit" into different careers. (It's called a Strong Inventory and I have taken it...it has been validated statistically). The other thing is that I've been wrong sometimes, but if summing up your "initial read" is correct 90% of the time, that's pretty good. And that's about how correct I am. The other 10% of the time I am wrong so I have egg on my face. There's also a cultural dimension to all of this -- try living in a place that is a cultural mosaic, like an LA, a NY or a Toronto and you can observe differences in behavior, language, appearance, food, dress, temperment, acceptable social distances and the like. Also, trying to do a quick study is necessary for survival or for metering your precious time...if you are walking down a deserted alley, you'd better do some prejudging of who comes your way. Back to real estate...some professions have tighter codes of ethics than others. Real estate has very little filtering compared to others. A realtor also may have to be pushy because they don't get a regular paycheck the way you and I do...hence this can flavor their personalities. And then there are the more dubious segments of highly filtered careers such as law...i.e. the "ambulance chasers" that upstanding lawyers are ashamed of. I think for as long as you've been on this earth, ocn, you should be able to get a good read on somebody pretty quickly. Most of my friends compliment me on my "street smarts" and "quick reads" for being pretty "spot on." I actually just enjoy people's differences in a harmless way. (Most of my friends are foreign or 1st generation and we have a blast jabbing at each other). Thanks for chiming into my thread which really deals with consumer experiences, particular to real estate in this case (could have been stressful and dishonest car repair experiences) and turning it into a "critique" of trinacriabob.

douche bag

bidet

Dutch

steak

serf

eyebrows

Isn't ocnblu the biggest jerk on C&G ? :AH-HA_wink:

What...in Highland Park? Since when is Highland Park high rent? I do understand it is being upgraded, though.

She's the Queen of Montreal. They love her there. Gotta give her credit...she is one of some ridiculous number of kids and comes from very humble origins.She's also fairly attractive (except when she has SHORT hair). That French look ...with the longish nose...it suits her.

Good idea. Remember, the carry on is to be no bigger than 22x14x9 to get it on there safely. The only schmucks that have ever fought with me about carry-ons are Lufthansa...our strict German friends. Talk about stereotyping. Also, please report on the Texas coast at Corpus and thereabouts. Is it nice? I've always wanted to go there, especially South Padre...when the college age folks AREN'T around! I like it Q-U-I-E-T.

I would definitely read it. I can do the most basic things that don't require instructions (no dirty minds, please), so no one would benefit from my sharing. However, for more complicated items, I'm all for the more "hands on" people posting "how to." We just have to agree on topics or find out how to cull topics from all the possibilities. Thanks.

buco oh yeah, Sicilian would be: fossu or pertusu

This was 1990 when my parents and I were handed the MLS book.

On the sell side, I agree. Doing a FSBO is tough. I tried once, in Seattle, and gave it the listing to a realtor. The house is a given...you just need to sell it.On the buy side, I'm not so sure I agree. Matching your needs (both spatially and aesthetically) is something that might be tough for them to do. One quick story (disgusting): When my parents moved up to Portland OR from LA, they approached a house they liked and then didn't buy it, but the listing agent was going to show them some more listings. I was there to help them. She also gave them an MLS book to glance at. On the cover, she wrote "California buyers" instead of "Mr. and Mrs. xxx." On top of that, she turned to me and said "I'm glad you're here, I would almost need a translator." (They speak English with a heavy accent, they're from Italy). She was Tonya Harding white trash extraordinaire. Unbelievable. We then found a house with another agent. It was new and nicer than anything the others had shown them. This agent was also bad news, but given they house they got and for the price they got, they didn't care.

hole

Wow...maybe I should go to court and change my name to Trina. :AH-HA_wink: About the open house thing...you are right and I would never go with her. That's how they TRY to pick up some clients. I wouldn't want her representing me, anyway just because I stumbled onto her open house. About the buyer's agent, well, even if I did tell them what I want and in what neighborhood, they still might now find the house or townhouse I like. The layout could be weird. There could be styling oddities on the outside I don't like. I drew up house plans for a handful of years, so I'm hard to please and it will waste their time. So far, buying someone's listing (2x) has worked fine. About a male agent...male agents tend to do it to support themselves, so it really is their line of work. Many women agents do it as a side job because they have a husband that brings home the bacon. I prefer to line the coffers of someone who does it as a full-time job. I would never work with someone I consider unprofessional.

donkey

I like the way WMJ thinks. Right on....as I keep on driving my very high mileage 3800 Regal, completely flustered as to what I should replace it with. Another "coarse" W-body...yeah, that's the ticket!

Pokey Gumby's friend

Look, boys...you've taken my thread which started out intelligently and made it pungent! Cat fight....hissssssssssssssssssss... Ok, I sort of see what The O.C. is saying about 2 directions. You've got a segment of Cadillac that wants to fight the imports head-on and you've got this segment of the brand that is the unmistakable, and slightly spongy, boulevardier. Well, maybe the challenge is for the DTS to aim at the big Benz and the big Bimmer without losing sight of what it is, a Cadillac, though one that is more svelte and up-to-date than what they have dished out and done at a price point that is compelling.

Ben-wa balls hanging from your rear-view mirror. I don't know.

I was on vacation in late May / early June. I will be relocating in 1 year. I walked into an open house for a townhome. It was a very nice townhome. I told the lady I wasn't interested, but she got my cell and PO Box....I'm quite a ways from her geographically, anyway. Learning that her husband is a physician made me less concerned about how much time she has expended and will continue to waste. It was a three day weekend for me and I get a call on third day (fortunately, the phone was off) if I wanted to go look at houses. First, it's my last day of vacation, bitch. Second, I am not going to swoop into town and buy a house on such short notice because it suits you. I've bought twice, once in Atlanta (house) and once in Seattle (townhome). Each time, I moved to the place, rented for 4 to 6 months, and bought a house that I saw based on driving around neighborhoods. In short, I figured out where I wanted to live and then just waited for a house to come up. I thus bought from the listing agent both times. If they don't sell me that particular listing, I don't want to work with them. The reason: I now design commercial type stuff, but I've drawn up plans for houses for about 4 years. I know what I want and they can't get inside my head. They are wasting their time. I can zero in better than they can and it doesn't take long to figure out the neighborhoods of a city or town I like. In short, I would have to say most realtors are supremely irritating. There are effectively no barriers to entry (like a degree in a particular thing) and I don't take well to a condescending housewife. I make it a point to put her in her place real quick and shop for myself. Realtors (some of you may not have had much experience with them, but your parents might have)...what do you think of them?