Greg Hampton's Blog

Beautiful Blue Ridge, Georgia

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 07:15:11 -0500

I have lived in Blue Ridge,GA all of my life and I still find people, places, and things that amaze me. It

seems just as I least expect it I see something or somebody that makes my day a better one. The

mountains and creeks here are clean and pure. The downtown is full of shop owners that are willing to

greet you with a smile. It is just the best place to be. Come take the Blue Ridge,Georgia challenge and I

am sure you love it here too.

Blue Ridge,GA Fathers Day

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 07:08:18 -0500

Today is already started with a surprise! My seven year old had the idea of serving me breakfast in bed for a Father's Day surprise. It was a surprise to find that the main course was a PBJ sandwich served with Doritos amd a Diet Coke. It was the most thought out meal I have had in along time. I know it was made with love. My 16 year daugther will celebrate with me in a few hours, I am sure.

Blue Ridge GA Visual Tour

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:48:30 -0500

This is sort of a strange blog, I will post anyway. I am looking for pictures of Blue Ridge,GA or the North

Georgia Mountain Area to produce a martketing DVD/Visual Tour. If you have anything that is intresting

or out of the ordinary and would like to have it in this media(which will not be branded and can be

reprodued) please send me a jpeg file. When the project is complete,I will be sure to send a e-file and

DVD. Thanks for your imput.

North Georgia Real Estate Report

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:44:34 -0500

This is not really a North Georgia Real Estate Report, but I thought it sounded like a good heading. I have

noticed a little more activity her around Blue Ridge,Georgia in the last few weeks. I am getting a lot of

folk looking on one end or the other end of the price range. I have two clients looking to buy now, but

they both have vacation plans to go out of the country, so I am on hold. There are more people looking

at buying distressed homes as well.

Gas Game in Blue Ridge, Georgia

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:38:23 -0500

I am getting a little tired of watching gas prices go up 2 to 3 times a day at store that haven't received a

new shipment in a week. I know business is business, but in school I learned that unit cost + profit=

sales price. People are taking advantage of other by practicing this policy. I will not buy anything else

other than gas at these predator's store.

Hot Weather in Blue Ridge,Georgia

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:27:45 -0500

Today in Blue Ridge,Georgia the tempature topped 90 for the second day in a row. We are not used to such hot weather, and hope it will not last long. Sales seem to on the rise, and leads are beginning to turn into customers and I am hoping some of them will soon turn into clients.I am sure of one thing and that is have picked up some new friends along the way. I have also picked up some new people to get info and advice on A/R.

When the press is passing on bad news and you are feeling a little blue, just remember that if you have problems cash will fix, your troubles aren;t that bad. I have a friend that has just lost his home,car, and credit and yet his attitude is good. I think I know where is strenght is, and I am trying to look at thing a little differently.

Thank you to my friends,co-workers at RE/MAX Around the Mountains,and my family.

Calling North Georgia when least expected!

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:42:12 -0500

This morning while writing a Blog, I got an e-mail from a prospect in Blue Ridge,Ga. I didn't know other people stayed up as late as I do, but I guess I was wrong. The prospect is wanting to come and visit a couple of homes in North Georgia tomorrow, and I am going to do my best to try to convert them from prospects into clients. I love ti when a plan comes togrther.

Having a good time in Blue Ridge,GA

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:37:02 -0500

Today, Being Friday, I found myself without much to do, so I went and hung out at the office for a while and decided to go away. I found myself at a home on Blue Ridge Lake following up on a bid that I had put in to stain a large waterfront home for a very well known personality. He was a blast to hang out with and I am perrty sure that I landed the job.

North Georgia Sunset

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:31:49 -0500

I wish I'd had my camera with me tonight. My wife and I went for a drive in Blue Ridge, Georgia and we watched the sunset and saw it like we hae never seen it before. My wife asked me "Why do you like the sunset at the beach so much better than the North Georgia Sunset Better?"and I told her because I am totally removed from work. I guess it not any more beautiful in Florida, but I do not have to deal with anything else while watching it.

Who's the Boss here?

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:25:16 -0500

In sleepy old Blue Ridge,Georgia, I have had some trouble trying to figure out who is in charge of most deals. It might be the wife or it might be the husband, but today I had parents putting the decision of purchasing a home in the hands of their minor childern. This was really disturbing because my 16 year old daughter changes her clothes 3 time a day. I know kids are smart but do you let them run the show? I think not!

IT Tools used in Real Estate

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:19:40 -0500

I have been looking atr widgets,SEO's,link exchanges, etc and I have decided to let my peers guide me through this exercise, because I am lost. I hate to sound like an idiot, but I am lost as to how much money to spend and where to spend it. It is a whole lot easier to go buy a new shirt or anything else, than it is to spend money on an item you cannot see. Please HELP,I am totally lost.

Blue Ridge Blog

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:14:47 -0500

In Blue Ridge GA, there is not a whole lot of night life to enjoy with the exception of going to the Swan Drive In Theater or riding through the mountains to view the wildlife after dark.

We decided to go to Cartersville BBQ Cook Off and it was great, I will be sure to be a regular for years to come. In Georgia, The pig is #1 on my list of things to eat, a close second is pork.

Mr President, Help is needed in North Georgia

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:26:01 -0500

I rally do not care who is elected president of the United States of America, as long as , it help get the economy back on track. I am sick and tired of talking about short sales, foreclosures, and the rest of the negative real estate issues.

I remember the last 10 years and I wish we could go back and see what went so wrong. I do not know if George W Bush is the problem or not, but what or who is ?

I am looking for the days where enterperners can make a living.

Foreclousure in Paradise,Blue Ridge GA

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:17:00 -0500

Today started just like most days, I went to a large building supply company that is locally owned and

operated and bought about $900.00 worth of stuff, which isn't a whole lot of stuff. The funny thing was

that the owner stopped in the parking lot to thank me, this has never happen before. He told me that he

appreciated my business, and went on to tell me about the 5 pages of foreclosures in local paper this

week. He then said "What are we going to do?"This took me by total surprise, because he is own the

local Bank Board.

If this guy doesn't know what's up, How am I suppose too!

i think that I will just keep working and not listen to anybody with a negative thought and look at the

other side of this R word we are going through.

"Under all is the land"

Seller know best?

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:45:34 -0500

I have one Sellers who I can't seem to make really happy with anything I do or don't do. If I make a

flyer , it is all wrong. if I run a classified ad ,it's wrong. If I place signage, it's wrong. If I ask about

pricing the home realistically, I am wrong! I am at the end of my rope.

With all the resources I have through RE/MAX, You would think that there might be something they

would like, but NO. I am wrong to fire them as a customer. I feel like they are sucking the life from me ,

it is something everyday.

PLEASE ADVISE!

Sharing the Love in North Georgia

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:00:00 -0500

Today, My wife(who is also my business partner) decided to start giving out referrals to other agents in our office. We have been blessed with more than we can possibly do. We have interviewed agent without them knowing it. We ask the several questions before handing them our business. If they answer correctly we are going to work them, if not we simply can't turn clients to them.

The first question we ask is " What does your web-site look like?" If they say" They do not have one" or "They are working on one" We move out. The next question is "What days are you available?" If the reply is any thing other than 7 days a week, we are gone.

We may seem a little hard to please, but so are our clients. In my opinion,Only the strong will survive.

Sunday in North Georgia

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:04:00 -0500

Today was a wonderful day! I didn't do anything real estate related until about 6:00 pm, and that only

lasted a couple of hours, just making my follow up calls and returning e-mails.I also did a little A/A

commenting.

I just took the sabbath as it should be, I rested and hung out with my best friend and business partner

who happens to be my wife of 20+ years. We slept in,had lunch, and went to Wal-Mart. I know this

doesn't sound very exciting but I was glad for the lack thereof. It was good just to do nothing for one

day. Tomorrow will come soon enough and it will be back to the game.

33,000 Points and counting

Sat, 31 May 2008 21:22:23 -0500

I didn't realize it but I just past the 33,000 point level on Active Rain. In the county I live in there are

only a few regulars that post blogs or comments on A/R, but the one that do take it seriously and so do

I. It is almost like a competition to see who can maintain ranking, and I think that is cool. The best part

of it is it keeps me from wasting time on non real estate related junk. I am happy to be here and I think

I'll stay for awhile.

North Georgia, National Forest

Sat, 31 May 2008 21:15:42 -0500

I had a revelation today! I live in a place that is surrounded by big woods and I live 1.5 hours from

Atlanta. Blue Ridge, GA is the county seat of Fannin County, GA, and it approximately 40% National

Forest. There are not that many places in the country that Have that claim. I sometimes take for

granted the opportunities to be in the middle of no where, but when I am there, I love it.

If any of you ever get the need to be close to God or just need a place to rest, without hearing the world

for a day or two, come and visit us in Blue Ridge,GA. North Georgia is the best.

Wii Bowling League at RE/MAX Around the Mountains ,Blue Ridge , GA

Sat, 31 May 2008 19:46:24 -0500

Yesterday one of my clients gave me a great idea. A Wii Bowling League, For those of you who do not

know Wii is a video game that is virtual reality. Last night we started with a practice night and we didn't

get done until about 1:00am. It was a bunch of fun and we didn't talk about Real Estate even once. I

think it is going to last about 10 weeks. We are playing for bragging rights, but I feel it is making us

stronger as a company. In this day and time everybody needs to have a little fun.

80/20 Rule in Blue Ridge, GA

Sat, 31 May 2008 19:37:12 -0500

In just about everyplace I have ever been, or worked at , had anything to do with it seems that 20 percent of the people do about 80 percent of the work. I am not just talking about my job as a Realtor in Blue Ridge,GA at RE/MAX Around the Mountains, but even at church and other areas of my life. I pray that I never become one of the 80 percent of the folks that do 20 percent of the work. If I do I hope that would please tell me so. I never want it to be said of me that I am not a work horse.I am thankful that my parents had such a strong work ethic and pride in what they did ,it taught me a lot.

Making Leads count Blue Ridge GA

Sat, 31 May 2008 19:29:46 -0500

All the Realtors in the free world know that lead generation is very important,but we somehow forget to

follow through. I must confess that I am guilty of this offense! I have spent thousands of dollars on a

website, print ads ,billboards , and many other advertising methods only to forget about the follow

through. I heard another agent telling a story about losing a lead in his car for a week and losing the

client because he did call back soon enough.

I know that Blue Ridge , Ga is still having better times than other places around the country, but I know

that I cannot let One lead slip away, they cost way too much to get,and without them I do not have a

chance to excel.

Going Green in Blue Ridge Georgia

Sat, 31 May 2008 11:37:04 -0500

The last few clients that I have had seem to be really intrested in "going Green", so I have decided it

may be time for me to establish myself as a "Green Realtor". I know this sounds a little hokie but it is the

trend in the Mountains of North Georgia. I have always tried to take care of what God has given us to

enjoy and protect the land in which we live. I am now starting to get the whole idea of conservation of

the resources we are also blessed with. I ahvae also decided to start to try and convince builders to do

the same. Working on saving what we have and keeping it clean.

Blue Ridge Ga Realtors

Sat, 31 May 2008 11:24:54 -0500

I am very thankful that i live in Blue Ridge, Georgia! I am also very thankful that most all of the Realtors

here are in one accord. I feel like North Georgia is an awesome place to be in this business, because of

it's natural beauty and friendly people. The entire Real Estate Community has had it rough in Blue

Ridge for the past 12 months, but I am noticing more and more interest from potential clients. The

inventory is great, the producing agents are still living, and the best offices are still open. I am a blessed

man to be at RE/MAX Around the Mountains and to be able to live and work in Blue Ridge.

Points,Points and Points!

Fri, 30 May 2008 06:23:17 -0500

I really never thought about how many points I had until this morning while reading the BLOG on

another. I just crested the 30K mark, and I figured it take me about an hour to get 250 points. The fact

that I love reading post and Blogs makes me spend even more time in the Rain. So, I am guessing that I

am in the Rain about 2 hours a day, 14 hours a week, 728 hours a year. I look at that as continuing

education. I am thinking about petitioning my local RE Board to see if they agree.