by Roberta Murphy Want to know what keeps me terrorized at night? Database management. I am in an urgent race against time–and my nightmare is one that haunts major corporations throughout the world– from retailers to brokerage firms to telecoms to the U.S. Government itself. In our San Diego real estate practice, I have until December 30 to migrate several hundred clients and their specific and detailed property requests over…
by Roberta Murphy It came as a total surprise when I received an email from International Listings that Luxury Home Digest had been tapped as one of the top 8 Home Buying blogs in the country–and one of the top 100 Real Estate Blogs. WOW! I join the other winners in this category in thanking the judges at International Listings for this special real estate honor: Barbara Corcoran Ink: Barbara…
by Roberta Murphy Rumors and gossip are are swirling around a possible Google and GoDaddy marriage. It seems about two years ago, Google became accredited as a domain name registrar. Meanwhile, GoDaddy, the worlds largest domain registrar, has been busy filing patent applications for search, VOIP and other technologies that would make it an attractive buy to acquisition-hungry Google. A few of GoDaddys recent patents would help propel one of…
by Roberta Murphy I believe we have a new issue to negotiate on behalf of our clients: CANCELLATION FEES A couple of weeks ago we had a buyer cancel a transaction within the timeframes agreed upon by the buyer and seller. Notice of cancellation was sent out shortly after the physical inspection on the $400,000 downtown San Diego condo. It should have been a simple matter, but that was not…
by Roberta Murphy I was asked to share some simple Feng Shui tips for home offices, written by Laura Milligan over at the Bootstrapper Blog. She lists 50 great ones, but I’ll tease you with a few she has listed in her article. In spite of a personal bookshelf full of Feng Shui education, I found these suggestions particularly useful in that I am currently refiguring my own home office…
by Roberta Murphy $50 million is the new $30 million, says Glenn Roberts over at the Inman News Blog–especially when it comes to high end luxury homes. Citing a 2007 Mid-Year Luxury Report by Stribling Private Brokerage, Roberts explains how just a few years ago, even a rumor of a $30 million real estate sale in Manhattan would create big buzz. But since the sale of a $53 million property…
by Roberta Murphy Brad Inman this morning wrote an excellent article about the mortgage and real estate crisis that has gripped so many markets in the United States–and elsewhere. In The Housing Market Blame Game, Inman reports that even formerly raging real estate markets that were once seen as unshakable, such as Manhattan, are now beginning to share the pain with regions that had collapsed earlier. Many blame the real…
by Roberta Murphy Luxury real estate circles are abuzz with the latest report that two top producing Beverly Hills agents have been indicted for their alleged participation in a mortgage fraud scheme. The LA Daily News reports that Joseph Babajian and Kyle Grasso have been suspended by Prudential California Realty, and are under orders not to conduct any real estate business until federal charges against them have been resolved. Both…
by Roberta Murphy I am developing a severe case of phone envy as I watch friends caress and tickle their iphone screens. Their voicemail is visual and at a glance, they can see who has left messages and can prioritize the return of those calls. Their web surfing is real, and reading glasses aren’t required because text and pictures can be enlarged with the slide of a finger. The iPhone…
by Roberta Murphy Whenever I go to shop for technology of any sort, I head over to CNet to check out editorial and user reviews. Whether I am shopping digital cameras, tablet pc’s or cell phones, I know I can trust what they have to say. It came as a recent wonderful surprise that they have also taken to rating blogs–or at least those that focus on technology. Luxury Home…
