Wth the closing of Century 21 Paramount in Auburn (see previous post), Prudential Preferred Real Estate has doubled in size and added some outstanding agents as well as a new broker.

Taylor Britton, who was a top producer the last few years at C-21, is now the new broker at Prudential, which is located in the Bruno's shopping center off Glenn Avenue in Auburn, Alabama. He brought with him some good friends and fellow producers: Ryan Edwards, Jimmy DeVenny, Debbie Whitley, Bryan Huff, Annie Williams, Brian Huddleston, and Charity Edwards (who is the new office manager).

Of course, the veteran Prudential agents are still performing their best: Missy Harris Thompson, Dawn Radnitz, Wendy Hamme, Chrystal Ingram, Becca McVey, Amy Smith, Chad Williams, owner - Stacy Williams Jordan, and yours truly.

That's right the once powerhouse of Century 21 Paramount in Auburn, Alabama has fallen.

This great company of all star real estate agents that, at one time, peppered Lee County with black and yellow arm signs is no more. Some went to Keller Williams, some went to Prestige Properties, the broker went to Weichert, but the bulk of talent moved their licenses to Prudential Preferred Real Estate on Glenn Avenue in Auburn.

Taylor Britton is now the new broker at Prudential. Following him (in no particular order) from C-21 to Prudential: Ryan Edwards, Carrie King Maurelli, Debbie Whitley, Annie Williams, Bryan Huff, Jimmy DeVenny, Brian Huddleston, and Charity Edwards.

This exodus to Prudential in Auburn has doubled the size of the brokerage overnight. And owner Stacy Williams Jordan has to be thrilled with the sudden explosion of market share. She said that,"If anyone else wants to come, we'll knock the wall down and expand into Countrywide" (which is next door in the Bruno's Shopping Center).

Still fresh off the plane from Palm Desert, California where I've been for the last week with 3 of my co-workers and 1500 or so other realtors from all over the country.

The occassion was Tom Ferry's Success Summit 2008 which was held at the Desert Springs JW Marriot Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, CA. We flew from Atlanta to Phoenix, then Phoenix to Palm Springs, then took a cab ride to the resort last Monday. We flew home Saturday arriving back in Auburn, AL about Midnight local time.

What a week! The actual conference didn't begin until Tuesday afternoon but we we there for early registration to avoid the crowd and I'm glad we did! Wow, what a line of folks. I thought these people were crazy for getting in line an hour before the doors opened to get a good seat in the ballroom. It was like a rock n' roll show. Lights going everywhere, upbeat music blaring from the sound system, and 5 enormous projection screens so that everyone in the room could get a clear picture of our esteemed leader, Tom Ferry.

Let me just say, I say Tom in New Orleans this past March at the Prudential National Convention.  He was, by far, my favorite speaker. After the 90 minute talk, I went home, implemented the strategies he taught me, and my business SHOT up! So when I got the opportunity to go to his 4-day Success Summit, it was an easy decision.

Tom is a world-renowned, real estate coach, speaker, and motivator. I spoke with him briefly on Tuesday night at the Prudential party and to my surprise, 2 days later, he called me by name and referenced our conversation 2 days prior. That blew me away. I've only known Southern Baptist preachers who could remember names so well.

Several successful agents from across the country who are Tom's clients spoke of their businesses and how they've achieved real estate stardom. They were equally as helpful as Tom.

On Friday, Tony Robbins spoke. If you've never heard him before, wow. We were jumping up and down, getting pumped-up and full of energy. (They even had to take some guy to the hospital.) This was an excellent closer for an awesome week. I've never felt so energized and excited about real estate. I WILL be there next year.

Not to give away all the secrets I learned from traveling across country, but here's Tom's vision: to make 1,000,000 people millionaires and to make their respective businesses simple, fun, and profitable.

What's the deal with this group?

Is their pricing fair?

Is there anyone out there who has used them and gotten good results?

Seems to be a little on the expensive side. I'm curious if it's worth it. What are the ratios of leads to closed sales? I have had success with one other company that I won't talk about in this blog because I really want to discover more about House Values and their company.

People always say that if you get one closed sale, that the money spent is all worth it. But should we waste all that time chasing bad leads that we're paying for or use good old fashioned shoe leather to get leads?

2008 Auburn Football Schedule

Date	Opponent / Event	Location
08/30/08	vs. Louisiana-Monroe	Auburn, Ala.
09/06/08	vs. Southern Miss	Auburn, Ala.
09/13/08	at Mississippi State	Starkville, Miss.
09/20/08	vs. LSU	Auburn, Ala.
09/27/08	vs. Tennessee	Auburn, Ala.
10/04/08	at Vanderbilt	Nashville, Tenn.
10/11/08	vs. Arkansas	Auburn, Ala.
10/23/08	at West Virginia	Morgantown, W.V.
11/01/08	at Mississippi	Oxford, Miss.
11/08/08	vs. Tennessee-Martin (HC)	Auburn, Ala.
11/15/08	vs. Georgia	Auburn, Ala.
11/29/08	at Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Ala.

WAR EAGLE!!!

Not too long before football season is back. If you've never been to an Auburn football game at Jordan Hare Stadium, it's a treat. Our little town of 55,000 people grows to about 200,000 on game days. Football is almost like a religion in the south. The tailgating experience alone is worth the trip even if you don't go to the game. The southern charm of Auburn fans really shines before the games at tailgates spread out all over campus. The smell of barbecues and fried chicken is everywhere!

Prudential Auburn, otherwise known as Prudential Preferred Real Estate located in Auburn, Alabama is a fast-growing, thriving real estate company, full of allstars of Lee County Alabama's real estate industry.

I often tell people that with all of the negative media attention in the national real estate market, that Lee County is in the Twilight Zone! The rules don't apply. The numbers are not negative the way they are in Florida, California, and the other hurting areas of the country. We have excellent school systems and thriving industry.It is a GREAT time to buy here.

At the forefront of the Lee County Association of Realtors is Prudential Preferred Real Estate, a quasi-bolier room of good agents with an excellent support staff, a broker with a Ceasar-like persona, and a state-of-the-art office like no other in our area.

Stacy Williams Jordan, my broker, is a demigod in the real estate business in Auburn and Opelika. The walls in her office are adorned with numerous plaques, awards, and pictures that look like the gold records that hang on the walls of the Motown record label's lobby. I feel fortunate and privileged to be under the tutelage of such a giant in the industry.

When you walk in the front door of Prudential, you're greeted by the sweetest of souls, Nancy Blanchard, a former shaper of young minds, now retired and faithfully giving her smiles to each visitor who graces our lobby. The pretty fliers that are placed in front of all our listings are all designed by her. She's also recently organized a scholarship program to a deserving high school senior who will use the funds to attend college this fall. And most of the time, when you call the office, she answers and directs the phone traffic.

You'll then see our large confence room off to the right that holds a large table with leather chairs, with a contemporary chandelier above it and on the wall a large, flat screen for viewing video and presentations. There's another smaller conference room built for privacy immediately behind the larger one where many contracts and deals come together. We also have a large media/file room that holds cabinets full of paperwork, mailboxes, the copier/network printer and office supplies... first class and professionally functional.

Angela Sheflin, who holds a real estate license, is our office manager. She's so important and so integral that she has two offices from which she "holds down the fort" from. I say that she holds a license to let you know that she does a whole lot more than just shuffle paperwork. She's the glue that binds us all together. Angela keeps us compliant and up-to-date with the many responsibilites that is required of a real estate company in today's world.

We have a full kitchen in the back that stays full of groceries for us to offer our clients, nice restroom facilities and a large sign shop for our many incoming and outgoing listings.

Then there is the talent. The agents. I couldn't ask for a better team of agents to work with. For a diverse market such as ours, you need a diverse group of realtors to handle all of the different cultures, ages, and backgrounds of people who are moving into the Auburn area.

We have Dawn Radnitz, Missy Harris Thompson, Wendy Hamme, Chad Williams, Becca McVey, Amy Smith, Christal Ingram, and Stephanie Truett. There's room for more, but we're very selective on who we have working with us. Other offices (and I'm not going to name any names) around our area are filled with drama and inexperience. At Prudential, we don't tolerate it. The biggest argument you might ever hear in our office is where we're going to eat lunch when we have a company gathering.

I could go on, but I hate to brag. If you're ever in Auburn, stop by our office located on Glenn Avenue next to Countrywide Home Loans in the Bruno's Shopping Center. You're sure to be greated with a smile.

My son has been enrolled at the Auburn Academy of Martial Arts for a few months now. Wow! What an improvement. You can see the confidence in his face, his walk, his talk, and his general persona. It is a Tae Kwon Do school which is a Korean form of karate.

 I love this logo!

Tae kwon do is more on the mind, body, exercise and defense as opposed to more offensive forms or karate. We go twice per week to the school which is located at 323 Airport Road, in Auburn. I wish we had the time to attend more! My son speaks to every adult now with a clear and concise, "yes sir" or "yes ma'am." And though I tried and failed before, he has learned to respect adults as well as his peers from Patrick Baeder, the owner/instructor (that's him in the picture) for the Auburn Academy of Martial Arts. We've been so excited about karate, neither he nor I can hardly wait to go back each week.

Patrick offers a 2 week $24.95 trial that includes a uniform just to try out the classes to see if your child will like it or not. Of course, after our 2 weeks, we were hooked! This is just one more place that makes Auburn, Alabama a great place to live.

I just posted the schedule for Auburn University Baseball's 2008 season. It brought up a memory that I'd like to share. He's 6 now, but when my son, Landon was slightly over a year old, I took him to his first baseball game. Now, I'm not an idiot. I know that a baseball game is no place for a one-year-old. But I was running out of ideas for distractions for this screaming child and thought, "what's the harm, we'll sit behind the barricade."

Well, we got behind the net along the first base line above the visitor's dugout. However, we couldn't get close enough to home plate where the top, above-us was netted because the ballpark was packed. It was an SEC game against Florida. Beautiful day, 80 degrees, mostly sunny and a late afternoon game with the sun behind us. I had gone to J & M bookstore earlier in the week and bought matching AU hats for Landon and me. Hey, I bleed orange and blue and my son will be raised an Auburn Tiger just as I was.

3rd inning, and Landon is in my lap, quiet as a church mouse just taking-in all the noise, movement, and excitement. TING! Batter hits a foul ball......

I've been to thousands of baseball games and never caught a homerun or foul ball. This time, the one time a ball is hit seemingly straight to me, I have my one-year-old son in my lap. In a split second, just as if I had done it a million times before, I took my cap off my head, and caught the ball 2 feet from Landon's head. YES!

I calmly, as cool as I could be, held up the ball to the small cheering crowd around me. It was one of those great father/son moments that I'll take to my grave. We go to as many games we can every since.

The Tigers are back in full swing (pun intended) for their 2008 season at Plainsman Park in Auburn. They completed a 4-game sweep against East Tennessee State on Monday. Billy Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park may be the most gorgeous diamond not only in the Southeastern Conference but the NCAA. If you haven't been, take a child out to the ole ballgame. Tickets are only $5 and you're sure to enjoy even if you're not an Auburn Tiger fan.

2008 Schedule

Date	Opponent / Event	Location	Time/Result
02/22/08	vs. East Tennessee State	Auburn, Ala.	W, 6-3
02/23/08	vs. East Tennessee State	Auburn, Ala.	W, 12-1
02/24/08	vs. East Tennessee State	Auburn, Ala.	W, 12-4
02/25/08	vs. East Tennessee State	Auburn, Ala.	W, 12-2
02/28/08	vs. Florida State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
02/29/08	vs. Florida State	Auburn, Ala.	3:00 p.m. CT
03/01/08	at Florida State	Tallahassee, Fla.	2:00 p.m. ET
03/02/08	at Florida State	Tallahassee, Fla.	2:00 p.m. ET
03/04/08	vs. Davidson	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/05/08	vs. Davidson	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/06/08	vs. VMI	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/07/08	vs. VMI	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/08/08	vs. VMI	Auburn, Ala.	3:00 p.m. CT
03/09/08	vs. VMI	Auburn, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
03/11/08	vs. Appalachian State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/12/08	vs. Appalachian State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/14/08	at Florida	Gainesville, Fla.	6:30 p.m. ET
03/15/08	at Florida	Gainesville, Fla.	4:00 p.m. ET
03/16/08	at Florida	Gainesville, Fla.	1:00 p.m. ET
03/18/08	at Troy	Troy, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/21/08	vs. Kentucky	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/22/08	vs. Kentucky	Auburn, Ala.	3:00 p.m. CT
03/23/08	vs. Kentucky	Auburn, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
03/25/08	vs. Mercer	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/26/08	vs. Samford	Hoover, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/28/08	vs. Tennessee	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/29/08	vs. Tennessee	Auburn, Ala.	3:00 p.m. CT
03/30/08	vs. Tennessee	Auburn, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
04/01/08	at South Alabama	Mobile, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/04/08	at Arkansas	Fayetteville, Ark.	6:30 p.m. CT
04/05/08	at Arkansas	Fayetteville, Ark.	2:00 p.m. CT
04/06/08	at Arkansas	Fayetteville, Ark.	1:00 p.m. CT
04/08/08	vs. Georgia State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/09/08	vs. Mississippi Valley State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/11/08	vs. South Carolina	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/12/08	vs. South Carolina	Auburn, Ala.	3:00 p.m. CT
04/13/08	vs. South Carolina	Auburn, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
04/16/08	vs. South Alabama	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/18/08	at Vanderbilt	Nashville, Tenn.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/19/08	at Vanderbilt	Nashville, Tenn.	2:00 p.m. CT
04/20/08	at Vanderbilt	Nashville, Tenn.	1:00 p.m. CT
04/22/08	vs. Samford	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/25/08	at Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	6:30 p.m. CT
04/26/08	at Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	3:00 p.m. CT
04/27/08	at Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
04/29/08	vs. Troy	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
05/02/08	vs. Mississippi State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
05/03/08	vs. Mississippi State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
05/04/08	vs. Mississippi State	Auburn, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
05/09/08	at Mississippi	Oxford, Miss.	6:30 p.m. CT
05/10/08	at Mississippi	Oxford, Miss.	4:00 p.m. CT
05/11/08	at Mississippi	Oxford, Miss.	1:30 p.m. CT
05/13/08	at Mercer	Macon, Ga.	6:00 p.m. ET
05/15/08	vs. LSU	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
05/16/08	vs. LSU	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
05/17/08	vs. LSU	Auburn, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
05/21/08	SEC Tournament	Hoover, Ala.	TBA
05/22/08	SEC Tournament	Hoover, Ala.	TBA
05/23/08	SEC Tournament	Hoover, Ala.	TBA
05/24/08	SEC Tournament	Hoover, Ala.	TBA
05/25/08	SEC Tournament	Hoover, Ala.	TBA
05/29/08	NCAA Regionals	TBA	TBA
05/30/08	NCAA Regionals	TBA	TBA
05/31/08	NCAA Regionals	TBA	TBA
06/01/08	NCAA Regionals	TBA	TBA
06/06/08	NCAA Super Regionals	TBA	TBA
06/07/08	NCAA Super Regionals	TBA	TBA
06/08/08	NCAA Super Regionals	TBA	TBA
06/14/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/15/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/16/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/17/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/18/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/19/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/20/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/21/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/23/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/24/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/25/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA

This home is in popular Solamere Subdivision which is 1 mile from downtown Auburn and off of Martin Luther King Drive (Al Highway 14) not far from Shug Jordan Parkway which is the road that encircles Auburn. It is convenient to the Industrial Park as well as West-faring commuters. The home is new construction built by Strother & White and is tennant occupied at the moment so please give at least 24 hours notice before viewing.