When I first got into this business, all the "old" brokers I met told me that real estate was in the throes of monumental change. They had made their money, they said, by having control of their listings, and the Internet was revolutionizing that. They were no longer the monopolizers, or even the gatekeepers, of information. The new buzzword, they said, was "service."  more...

I don't sell mobile homes, but I could if I wanted to.

That's one of the many takeaways from my 22.5 hours of continuing education, required by New York State every two years to renew my real estate agent's license. I was initially licensed in New Jersey, where standards are rigorous, so my first training in New York felt laughably easy.

Now, two years later, it feels laughably irrelevant.  more...

I have been writing this column for about two years now (don't worry, I'm still a Rookie, and every time I learn my lesson from one beginner mistake I end up making a new one) and I think last week's video topic may have brought me the most mail that I have ever gotten. (See, "What to do this year? Video video")  more...

I walked out of this year's Real Estate Connect conference with two thoughts: I'm gonna figure out how to work the Web, and I'm gonna learn video.  more...

Sales volumes are down, prices are down, and it's time to get creative. That's been the message so far at Connect '08. Although I'm lucky enough to be partly insulated by being in Manhattan ("those of you from New York and the Hamptons can just check your BlackBerries and ignore the following part of my speech," Brad Inman joked during the welcome), I did learn a lot from dropping in and out of panels. With apologies to those of you I didn't get to, a sampling:

1. There's a place for virtual tours and video.  more...

First, let me announce that my BlackBerry did not work for seven days, and I did not die.

OK, I had Wi-Fi.

But in general, I told all my clients I was toddling off, and I toddled off, and I think if anything I got some respect for vacationing. Did it make me seem wealthy or enviable? I don't know. But I do know the world did not end.  more...

I realize that year-ends are artificial markers, like birthdays, but still -- I am so ready for 2008!

For one thing, it will be the last year where we have to watch people wear those stupid little glasses on New Year's Eve. I don't know what the souvenir marketers will do when 2009 turns into 2010, but they'll have to think of something, because suddenly the eye-holes won't be in the right place.  more...

Christmas is coming, and I walked by a crèche the other day. So naturally my thoughts turned to Madonna.

No, not that Madonna, the one represented in the crèche, who couldn't find a proper home in which to have her baby.

I was thinking about the other Madonna, the singer/dancer/businesswoman, who couldn't find a proper home in which to have her entourage.  more...

Today -- yesterday by the time you read this -- we had an ice storm in New York. I figure that much of the country had this, because when I went to take a look at my favorite journalism site, it had a headline that read, "Tips for Covering the Ice Storm."

So anyway, not unexpected. I knew I was going to have to be out in it, so I brought an umbrella and my waterproof bag.  more...

When I started selling in Manhattan (which is a year and a half ago now, but trust me, I'm still a rookie) I had no idea where customers came from.

The nice thing about being part of the Inman family is that it gave me the ability to quiz senior agents from different parts of the country, and they all said pretty much the same thing: It's hard to start, and then you get referrals.

Well, I had pretty much no idea what they were talking about because, since real estate was a second career for me, my good friends were demographically ill-suited to be clients.  more...

I was in the middle of a client meeting when my sponsoring broker called me. "I just want you to know," he said, "that Dick and Scott's apartment is on the market. They listed with the competition."

WTF? Dick and Scott, who I had spent half my spring traipsing around with, in search of something new for them to buy?  more...

I was on a chat board where I sometimes pick up clients and I will tell you what the chat is about around the holidays: nobody knows how to cook, and everybody hates their mother-in-law.

So first, I am very thankful that we are alive to see this holiday. It was only a half-a-dozen years ago that buildings were tumbling down and that was in question.

Second, I am grateful that I know how to cook. I never took a formal cooking class, but I bought cookbooks and watched friends who were good in the kitchen, and collected recipes.  more...

Barry Bonds was indicted today -- probably yesterday by the time you read this. The superstar slugger was charged with perjury, because he told a federal grand jury that he didn't knowingly take steroids -- and there's evidence to the contrary, like doping calendars setting out a regime of drug use.

Now, he might be innocent. It's still America, and he hasn't been proven guilty.

But it looks bad.

And in a world where you want people to believe that you don't use drugs, you might not want to have schedules for taking those drugs lying around.  more...

In her wonderful (and mouth-watering) memoir, food writer Laura Schenone decides to learn to make ravioli the way her ancestors did. As part of the quest, she goes to Italy, to a restaurant in the Genoa area, to learn from Roberto Circella, a master pasta maker. When she walks into his restaurant, La Brinca, she writes, "I am disappointed to see the pasta dough is already made. How much flour and egg did he use? How much moisture?"  more...

For those of you who don't read this column every week -- really, how hard is it? It runs on Fridays!

Sorry; what I meant to say was, for those of you who don't read this column every week, it is the story of my adventures in real estate.

And one of the long-term themes is both how starting a business is much more rewarding than I ever imagined, and yet much harder.

My first year out -- in New Jersey -- was an absolute disaster. I responded to this by coming back to New York, where I live, and starting over. Things were better immediately.  more...