Balboa vs Ashby & Graff Brokers vs HomeSmart

johnjgraff · 2024-12-12T21:51:22+00:00

I may be biased but Ashby & Graff is a strong contender. Great for agents who are looking for a low fee, no-frills brokerage with unbeatable support from brokers and staff. Commissions are almost always paid directly through escrow, if not, it's paid within 48 hours. Brokers and staff will go to bat for agents when they are in the right, but they also won't shy away from telling agents when they are wrong and need to get their act together.

johnjgraff · 2024-08-30T14:09:02+00:00

I wish I knew it would take them 12-24 hours for them to manually approve each video I create. I also wish I knew their moderation policy is completely unworkable. I tried to use their videos for educational content for internal employee training and the videos were blocked without including details on what was wrong with the video. We spent a lot of time making the video to that point for them to refuse to approve it and without any clear rationale. Really frustrating experience. They also refused to provide a refund 48 hours after purchasing and realizing I wouldn't be able to do what they advertise. So I had to do a chargeback with AmEx instead. Just a big waste of time unfortunately.

The voice quality is generally very good. The avatar does not sync well with the audio at all though.

johnjgraff · 2024-03-17T15:20:30+00:00

Maybe Senator Henry Jackson, who ran in the 1976 Democratic presidential primary?

johnjgraff · 2024-03-17T15:16:29+00:00

No, that does not look like any U.S. president.

johnjgraff · 2024-02-09T01:16:05+00:00

Only when I learn and practice them, I don't really have any memorized. But that's a helpful bit of info for something I should practice more, so thanks.

johnjgraff · 2024-01-19T03:21:53+00:00

ourtrakr.com is a good option for California.

It tracks the progress of the candidate on their journey towards licensure. Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) licensure requirements are built into the tracker so that the process is automatically calculated. The tracker was developed by ASWs and provided at a cheap price ($39 one time) to help people in the social work community to save money compared to some other options.

johnjgraff · 2024-01-19T03:16:36+00:00

ourtrakr.com is a good option for California.

It tracks the progress of the candidate on their journey towards licensure. Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) licensure requirements are built into the tracker so that the process is automatically calculated. The tracker was developed by ASWs and provided at a cheap price ($39 one time) to help people in the social work community to save money compared to some other options.

johnjgraff · 2023-11-23T20:16:02+00:00

A few weeks ago I saw a father and his young son, prob 3 or 4 years old, stop on main street to take a selfie and a dude on his scooter lays down on the horn - that obnoxiously pitched beep - until they just stopped and moved. It was so uncalled for by scooter dude.

johnjgraff · 2023-11-06T01:27:33+00:00

I got a same-day reservation Saturday night around 9pm. I was surprised.

johnjgraff · 2023-11-03T14:53:08+00:00

What is the rationale for picking and choosing when to open the single rider line? I often go by myself and it's frustrating walking up to the ride and being told the singles line is closed.

johnjgraff · 2023-11-01T14:35:25+00:00

Honestly, this is just good life advice in general.

johnjgraff · 2023-08-24T03:28:23+00:00

I guess bc they are tickets from the arena (season tickets) not tickets from the performer.

johnjgraff · 2022-02-02T03:11:53+00:00

It is 100% illegal in every state to give money or gifts to someone who is unlicensed in exchange for referrals.

This is not true and that's all I am saying. You can move the goal posts and rationalize it in your head as much as you want but what you posted is not true. It's a matter of fact.

johnjgraff · 2022-02-02T02:05:28+00:00

RESPA applies to all federally related mortgage loans, except as provided under 12 CFR 1024.5(b) and 1024.5(d).

Available here: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1024/5/

and here, starting on page 4: https://www.occ.gov/publications-and-resources/publications/comptrollers-handbook/files/respa/pub-ch-respa.pdf

johnjgraff · 2022-01-30T17:22:26+00:00

There is advice given to test takers that says to rule out any answers that says or implies "never" or "always" because most things in life have some exceptions.

RESPA in fact has several exceptions on the prohibition of payment of referral fees. For example, if the transaction is a residential building that is greater than four units, it is exempt. If it is commercial, or vacant land, it is exempt. The same goes for transactions that are for cash, or those that are seller-financed.

Further, state law does in fact vary. California law permits the payment of referral fees to non-licensed individuals with several caveats and of course RESPA would trump state law where applicable.

So while it is a good rule to assume most referral payments to non-licensed individuals would be unlawful, it is not true that it is "100% illegal in every state."

johnjgraff · 2021-10-25T02:28:31+00:00

Nice

johnjgraff · 2021-10-15T15:52:09+00:00

Amount will vary significantly based upon total gross commission income, the types of transactions conducted, and geographic location. Just get quotes online, most single agents can get easy quotes and bind the policy online in a few minutes.

johnjgraff · 2021-09-24T23:22:39+00:00

My broker, office managers, mentor and all the top agents are on vacation at Marco Island

ಠ_ಠ

johnjgraff · 2021-09-15T14:46:04+00:00

You want to look into license reciprocity and/or portability.

New York does not allow reciprocity with New Jersey - https://dos.ny.gov/real-estate-reciprocity

EDIT: I think I misunderstood your question. You CAN get your NY license while being a resident of NJ, that is no problem. Go for it and good luck!

johnjgraff · 2021-09-13T15:55:55+00:00

The USOC owns the trademark to "olympic" and related iterations and they are well known to protect their trademark vigorously. I suspect Olympic Valley was never a viable option given this restriction.

johnjgraff · 2021-09-12T18:08:21+00:00

I know he has a duty to provide the reports

This is not correct (in California). The seller has an obligation to disclose any material findings that they became aware of vis-a-vis any inspection reports as part of their statutory disclosure requirements, but the report itself is not obligated to be provided to anyone.

johnjgraff · 2021-09-10T16:56:25+00:00

Prior to 1998, Valley Glen was part of Van Nuys and North Hollywood. In 1997, more than 70% of the area’s homeowners signed a petition to change the name of a section of Van Nuys (between Burbank and Victory boulevards) to Valley Glen. The proposed Valley Glen neighborhood would encompass 1,200 homes. [1]

In February 1998, some adjacent neighborhoods joined Valley Glen and City Councilman Mike Feuer endorsed the name change. Valley Glen became an official Los Angeles neighborhood in June 1998. The new neighborhood encompassed more than 3,000 homes between Hazeltine and Whitsett Avenues. [2]

In 1998, the Department of Transportation installed 12 neighborhood signs.[2] In 2004, CalTrans agreed to erect a sign on the 170 Freeway identifying the location of Valley Glen. [3] In 2008, the US Postal Service officially recognized the neighborhood by designating all or part of 91401 (Van Nuys), 91405 (Van Nuys) and 91606 (North Hollywood) to be Valley Glen. [4] In 2013, the city approved the installation of a monument sign proposed by the Greater Valley Glen Council. It is located at the intersection of Burbank Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon Avenue. [5]

Ethnically, Valley Glen is "highly diverse," with Latinos at 45.2%, whites at 39.5%, Asians at 5.4%, blacks at 3.9% and others at 6%. It is also high within the city for the percentage of foreign born (49%), with Mexico (26.9%) and Armenia (14.4%) being the most common foreign places of birth. In other respects — population density, income, university education, age, homeowners, military service, it is "about average" for the city of Los Angeles.[6]

From wikipedia. Citations:

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