BDF Realty’s Blog

“Frustration is a function of our expectations…” (Stephen Covey)   You ever really look forward to seeing a movie?   Well, I have.  And several years ago, I was looking forward to seeing a movie that opened right before my birthday.   I had a really long week, but just kept thinking of what it would be like for it to be Saturday and how I’d be feeling when I was watching this...

A few years back, my wife and I were fortunate enough to take a trip to Barbados.  Due to the many things we wanted to see on the island, it made sense to get a rental car.  When I Googled how American tourists fared driving there, the information that spit out was that driving was fine with two caveats: they drove on the left side of the road which made things trickier, and if we went off the...

My skepticism of customer reviews has been growing for some time.  I think customer reviews started out well and became very useful to find good people, but have been spiraling down for years for a variety of reasons.   I believe the first reason lies in the sheer ubiquity of customer review requests.  If I talk to any person on the phone, I’m getting some combination of e-mail, text, and...

Early in my business career, I attended a networking event at a local restaurant.  I went to the sign-in table and was enthusiastically greeted by Susie.  “Welcome!  What’s your name?”   As Susie found my name on the sign-in sheet, she dutifully checked a box and pointed me to a nearby table with white sticker nametags and black Sharpie markers on top.  “Write your name, your business...

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” (Napolean Hill)   In recent news, President Trump is working on banning institutional homebuyers (firms owning 1,000 or more residential homes) from buying more homes.  These institutional buyers (IB’s), like Progress Residential, Invitation Homes, American Homes 4 Rent, and...

“Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean…” (Proverbs 14:4)   I remember several years back we had a couple come in and apply to rent a home from us.  They had eight children and seemed abnormally well-rested and together.  I was an admirer of these parents who were gracefully taking care of business with almost three times the youth constituency I’m currently trying to navigate....

Property managers have a lot of things under their purview.  Different types of things break or need to be serviced on a rental home.  Most are handled by specialists in some regard who know how to work within the confines of what landlords require (no gold-plated toilets, please).  And sometimes it can be tough to find specialists who are a good fit.   One of the vendors that has...

“Wisdom gives a man patience…” Proverbs 19:11   I was watching the Carolina Panthers play the Buffalo Bills yesterday and it was not pretty for us Charlotte folk.  The football game turned into an old-fashioned whooping, 40-9.   The Carolina Panthers quarterback, Andy Dalton, had a bad game.  He was intercepted once, fumbled twice, and took seven sacks.  One of the reasons for his...

I was in the Harris Teeter grocery store the other day and was waiting in line at the register.  As I perused some magazine covers (Prince Henry is doing what??), my eyes wandered over to the candy bars ($3.99 for a king-size Hershey bar??).  That price point stuck in my mind.  Weren’t these things $1.50 – $2.00 a few years ago??   The first inclination I typically have when I’m...

Those who are serious in ridiculous matters will be ridiculous in serious matters.” (Cato the Elder (Roman statesman))   “Wisdom gives a man patience…” (Proverbs 19:11)   The Bachelor became an instant TV hit in 2002 when it first came on the air.  What an interesting premise: a single man searching for the woman of his dreams to spend the rest of his life with- and having 25...