What motivates you? I am not going to say that money is not a powerful motivator, but the more I have been around successful businessmen and women who have developed wealth and/or happiness, I have found that money usually is not the prime motivator. Don't get me wrong, money is important. It would be hard to…

When you hear the word hook what do you immediately think of? Okay, in addition to fish what word comes to mind? What about seize, fasten, or hold? Hook implies getting stuck or drawn into something. In literature, a hook is what draws you to pick up the book or read a story. In advertising it is what causes you to purchase a product or service. Given these examples it is reasonable to assume that if we have…

"I can't build my business because the economy is so terrible and no one has any money to spend on what I have to offer!" Woe is me.... (yeah, I've heard myself say that a time or two!)

Um.....

Visit a restaurant on a Wednesday night - you'll have to wait to get a seat.

Go to a movie in the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday - you'll park in the BACK of the parking lot built for 5,000 cars.

Go to a local minor or major league baseball game - SOLD OUT and 75% of…

Raleigh NC – We recently received an email from Joy. She was thinking about a short sale, but was worried about a deficiency.

Here is a sentence from her email: "We obviously want to get the price as close to fair market value as possible to eliminate or reduce any deficiency the…

Team Nimbus All-Star of the Week

Marc Larin is the owner of Cardinal Home Technologies, LLC

Nature of Business:

We design and install Home…

Raleigh NC – Thinking about a loan modification. If you can afford to, then order an appraisal. Or, do your own appraisal.

Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure.

Ask your realtor “Hey, what are…

Here are some tips to provide a better home buying experience.

As a home buyer, you are looking for the right neighborhood, the right floor plan, and the right price. It's easy to be "wowed" by granite counter-tops, built-in bookcases, and a bonus room over the garage. But, before you make an offer on a house, it might be good to look beyond the mahogany front door.

1. Take a peek at the air filters. It's a simple task but can tell a lot about how well the…

MEOW, MEOW. Do you ever hear this in the night? This is known as night calling.

Of course we cats meow at other times too. So why do cats meow?

Well, I am a bit of an expert since I am a cat. I meow because I want a treat, or to be fed, want water, go out to my porch or I just plain want attention. I…

Raleigh NC – I received a note the other day from Andrew. He was upset that I would tell people that are upside down on their house to ask for a principal reduction from their lender. Here was his email.

Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure.

"I saw your blog post about how the banks won't approve principal…

Every year the Southern Women's Show in Raleigh seems to get better and better!  Many of my out of town clientsmake it a special point to come to Raleigh during this weekend.

The Southern Women's Show Raleigh will be held at the…

Raleigh NC – Are you pulling your hair out trying to convince your lender to reduce the amount you owe on your home?

People have a hard time grasping how difficult it is to get a loan modification that is fair. These banks just do everything they can to squeeze homeowners for as much money as possible.

Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and…

Earlier this year, Lain Ehmann gave us some great tips for organizing digital photographs. But what about all those old family snapshots? If you, or one of your clients, has inherited a collection, you may be…

Some of the things that I did in 2007 were downright appalling.

There were a number of times when I ended up in awkward situations as a result of having done things that were either inappropriate or that marked me as an obvious rookie. These experiences, however, were invaluable to my development as an entrepreneur.

I'll give you just one example here. During my last week on the job with my then-employer, I sent out a blast e-mail to everyone in the company (about 300…

If you’re the owner or manager of a company, you probably want your salespeople to do more prospecting. If you’re a salesperson, you should probably be doing more prospecting than you are. With all this talk about prospecting, though, what exactly are we talking about? Here’s my definition: Prospecting is an activity chain which begins with the identification of “suspect” companies, and ends with the first substantive conversation with the buyer. In other words, prospecting is a…

Raleigh NC – When you negotiate your loan mod you need to remember that the banks are professional negotiators. They know the tricks.

They know how to suck as much money out of you as is legally possible. Don’t kid yourself. They’re going to use every single tool in their tool chest to squeeze you.

Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and…

There are many reasons to conduct market research.  It is mainly completed on the basis of services and products that the company is offering.  Although the number of reasons are literally limitless from broad position projects to determining the best version of a logo, there are five main reasons:

• Introduction of New…

Even if you don't have a smartphone, I'm sure you've at least heard of the popular game "Plants VS Zombies." The plot of the game is that your neighborhood is under attack by a bunch of different Zombies. The only way to protect you and your family is by planting various plants that shoot, blow up, stall, or stomp on them to (re)kill them. It's a strategy game that puts your Plants VS the Zombies...

You don't get an endless supply of plants of course, because that makes the game WAY…

Raleigh NC – It's sad that the banks aren't willing to give anyone a principal reduction. The banks reasoning is that if they start granting principal reductions, then every single upside down homeowner will want one.

Click here to discover how other sellers…

How do you define “easement”?  An easement is the legal right of a person or company to have access of another person’s real estate land for a specified purpose.

Easements can be found on the survey, the deed, or a recorded easement agreement found at the county…