A Year Later

Just over a year ago, I experienced a life altering event. One morning I woke with a slight tingling sensation in the tips of my fingers and what felt like a pulled muscle in the back of both of my legs. Thinking that I must have slept wrong, I went about my business that day and didn't think too much about it. The next morning when I woke up I was much worse and by that evening had trouble walking. I went to the ER at UMC and was admitted. I ended up staying 10 days in the hospital for Guilliam Barre syndrome. I am happy to say that I have no long term effects from being temporarily paralyzed, other than I've managed to keep off some of the weight I lost.

During my time in the hospital I found out just how lucky I was. My good friend, Matt Pellerin, a Paradise Valley Realtor along with my friend Max Chirkov, set up a fund raiser to help pay my bills while I recovered. Specifically I'd like to thank my friends Jeff Manson in Hawaii, Ken Smith in Arlington Heights, Glenn Ginsburg in Naples and Toby Barnett in Marysville for their generousity, support and continued encouragement. So many people offered help is so many ways, it was truly humbling. My good friend and neighbor Vera Mischke and her family probably mobilized half of Omaha to pray for my recovery. I am truly lucky to have such a neighbor and good friend. And a special thank to you Anna Bourland and Kristina Davis at Advanced Access.

Some people also started their own fund raising efforts, like Gary at US Real Directory and others like my friends Larry Hotz in Denver, Mack Perry in Atlanta, Cal Carter in Gulf Shores, Wayne Long in Columbus, Eric Blackwell, Greg Swan in Phoenix and Eric Bramlett in Austin helped out in other ways.

The internet is probably the greatest commerce vehicle ever invented, but it also has allowed me to make friends all over the country as you can see. So many people helped I couldn't possibly mention them all. Friends of my brother and sister also sent their support, which speaks very highly of my siblings and their friends. I would also like to thank the following people for their generousity and prayers for my recovery:

Jonathan Yudin
Grant Freer
Deborah McCreath-Akbar
Joseph Ferrara
Jay Thompson
Wasabi Design, Inc.
Jason Farris
Dan Connolly
Kristi Berg
Sherry Baker
MediaQuake, LLC
James Duncan
Mike Farmer
Erich Caparas
Margaret Woda
Melissa Caulk
Kevin Kling PA
Larry Jensen
Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions LLC
Caleb Mardini
Susan Withington
Laurinda Frederick
Lisa Martin
Anna Hackman
Drew Hartanov
Dena Davis
Lynda Eisenmann
Paul Davis
Courtney Miller
Eileen Pettengill
Erin Cristall
Kellee Davis
Steve St John
Taeyoung Lee
Tenchi Hamaki
John Palmer
Art Derailed
Vlad Zablotskyy
Glenn Timme
Martin Barringer
Ray Lancon
Lesley Reppeteaux
Maureen Francis
Stephen Toms
Martin Barringer
Kristal Kraft
Elton Blair
Steven Haffner-Stearns
Karen Hurst

This is of course, an imcomplete list. There are many, many more people that made a difference. Thank you all.

Top Five Real Estate Industry Blogs

I had wanted to include a poll for everyone to cast their own vote, but I couldn't find one that I liked that worked with blogger. So instead I thought I'd list my own top five real estate industry blogs (one that I read). There are a LOT of real estate blogs out there to choose from. Some are super niche concentrated, others offer a wider view of the real estate market in general.

So here is my picks for the top five real estate industry blogs:

1. Bloodhound Blog - Owned and operated by Greg Swann, it started off with humble beginnings and has evolved into one of the most influential industry blogs out there. Greg has championed several causes on his blog and has thousands of fans across the US. If you haven't stopped by there yet, what are you waiting for?
2. Real Estate Industry Watch - A relatively new blog, REIW looks at issues not only affecting the market in the US, but all over the world. A great section is the "Franchise Watch" which lists what the big real estate franchises are up to.
3. Rain City Guide - Based in Seattle, RCG covers a wide range of industry topics. RCG set the standard for collaboration blogs in the industry.
4. Sellsius - Joe had a RV tour across the US that hit 24 cities in 2007. Very original and generated a lot of buzz and a loyal following.
5. Matrix - Jonathan Miller's blog focuses on the more economic issues of real estate, current trends, analysis and trends. A must read.

There are of course several more great blogs that I didn't list (after all I did say the top five). Thanks for stopping by.

Pets of Foreclosures

With so much attention given to people losing their homes, often the animals they leave behind are overlooked. Today my wife and I drove over to the West side of Vegas to pickup a dog that had been left behind. His owners lost their home to foreclosure and weren't able to take the dog with them. Unlike most people, the owner did show back up and help us get him into our van.

The dog whose name is Oso (Bear in Spanish) is now resting comfortably at the the Green Valley vet's office until tomorrow when he will be neutered. After that he'll go to German Shepard rescue in Pahrump for some training and socialization. Then he'll go up for adoption. So if you are looking to help a dog that has had a hard luck story, visit http://germanshepherdrescuelasvegas.com/.

Chester the Molester Gets LIFE

Chester Stiles whom I've dubbed Chester the Molester, was convicted earlier this year on several counts of child molestation. In a rare instance of true justice, Chester was sentenced to 21 LIFE sentences. That's right, he is NEVER going to harm another child again.

Mr. Stiles appeared before the court and gave a statement, whining that the tape wasn't properly inspected or some such garbage and that he was being treated unfairly because of the media attention. Perhaps he has a point. Perhaps no one gives a **** because he was without a doubt guilty as charged and had gotten away with it for years. I know he handed a life sentence to his victims. I'm sure parents here in the Las Vegas valley will rest a little easier knowing that a child predator is behind bars permanently.

Also a tip of the hat for a job well done to the city of Henderson police department for nabbing Stiles originally.

I'm sure Mr. Stiles will appeal and appeal. But in the mean time, his victims and their families can rest easy knowing justice was served.

Related:

Chester the Molester Goes on Trial

Out of Town Visitors

Today the city held a "tourism" rally to promote (and reaffirm) our tourist trade. Tourism has been down the last year and has hurt the local economy, but if you're a visitor it has worked out well for you (room prices are unbelievably cheap at the moment). A friend of mine was in town for a few days checking out the real estate market here after visiting some relatives in nearby St. George.

Larry is a Denver Realtor so naturally we ended up talking about the First Time Home Buyer tax credit and how it would effect the market once it expired. He was of the opinion that the market would suffer once its was no longer available. His daughter Liz Hotz has had only first time buyers as clients this year (and has closed more deals than Dad as a result) and most of them were motivated by the credit to buy a home now.

With the economy the way it is, steady home sales and a reduction in foreclosures is a necessity to getting things back on track. The April foreclosure numbers were released today and sadly, once again Nevada is leading the nation.

So my question to everyone out there is this: Do you think home sales will decline significantly once the First Time Home Buyer tax credit expires?

Protesters at Sunset Park

One of the great things about this country is freedom of assembly...even the freedom to make an idiot out of yourself in public. But please leave your kids at home. As I was driving home from Green Valley I made the mistake of driving down Eastern past Sunset Park.

There is a small group of people protesting a bill, Senator Reid and President Obama. As I was stopped, waiting for them to get out of the street and let traffic move, I asked an older lady exactly what she was protesting. She really couldn't give me a straight answer strangely enough. She felt President Obama with the help of Senator Reid was leading us into socialism. The banks should all fail. So I asked her why wasn't she protesting when President Bush gave out the tarp funds without any oversight or restrictions. She didn't have a reply to that and walked off in a huff.

Another thing too and this one lends to credibility. If you're going to protest, at least have the intelligence to make sure your the statements on your signs are spelled correctly. Have some verifiable facts to back up your statements. Don't try to cloak hate mongering in legitimate protesting either.

Stewart Getting a Lock on the Financial Mess

This is a clip from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He is talking to Jim Cramer of Mad Money. Definitely worth watching as Jon pulls up examples of Jim Cramer giving advice on how to pull what he calls "shenanigans" that AIG, Bear-Stearns and others basically used to make money and get us into this financial mess.

Chester the Molester Goes on Trial

Chester Stiles is in court today, facing the charges of child molestation leveled against him in late 2007. Stiles who I dubbed Chester the Molester is facing 22 counts of sexual assault of a minor and lewdness with a minor. Stiles videotaped himself having sex with a 2 year old girl that testified today. The courage this young girl has is amazing.

Thankfully, it looks like Chester will be spending more time in prison. Deptuy District Attorney Mary Kay Holthus produced letters from Stiles stating he is a pedophile. The letters were written to his ex-girlfriends and son.


During opening statements, Deputy District Attorney Mary Kay Holthus quoted extensively from letters Stiles had written to his son and ex-girlfriends where he freely admitted that he’s a pedophile. Those letters plus the video tape should guarantee that this predator is locked up.

Stiles was caught in a routine traffic stop in Henderson. Way to go HPD!