WNC is in the midst of a drought (or was not too long ago).  That means people living outside the public utilities have to rely on a well or spring to provide water to their homes.  A few wells are running dry.  Maybe some of you don't have to worry too much about this due to your location but here in the mountains it can mean a big expense and sometimes a big, expensive headache.  Never fear my friends!  Just use a dowser.

This is not the first time I've heard of folks employing the services of this craft.

From the article:

"Even if the water is at a low level, I'm still picking up the fractures the water is in. If we're picking up water at the height of the drought, then that's a good sign that we'll have year-round water."

Barnes made a believer out of Scott Paquin, who runs Firefly Farm in Celo. Paquin needed a well for his livestock, but he worried about finding adequate water after a neighbor drilled 700 feet only to get a trickle of a half gallon per minute.

After dowsing the property, Barnes located three potential sites, estimating water could be found about 225 feet down at four gallons per minute. When Paquin brought in the well driller, they struck water at 110 feet, then another vein at 220 feet. At 280 feet, they found a fracture with a flow of 14 gallons per minute.

"It's about $10 or more a foot to drill a well, so it's much cheaper to have a dowser come in," Paquin said. "With all this development we have going on in the mountains with everybody poking holes in the ground everywhere, that's a real concern."

I don't have any idea what they charge since most only ask for donations so it's up to you when asking for their help.

Wow!  It has been a while.  I didn't think I would be away this long but the arrival of a little one tends to trash all of your plans.  I had a choice and I chose to focus on my little girl.  I'm feeling more comfortable these days and I'm ready to expand my focus to other things not related to diapers and bottles.  Ha!

Asheville continues to grab headlines and good press.  A recent 20/20 that aired on 1-11-08 claimed Asheville as the happiest U.S. city.  Well, at least that is what journalist Eric Weiner claims in his book "The Geography of Bliss."  I must say, I do like living here but maybe not for the reasons he gives.  I mainly just like living in the mountains and being so close to outdoor activities and major cities.  The population of Asheville is around 75,000.  Buncombe County has around 220,000.

Also, according to United Van lines, North Carolina is the top migration destination for a second straight year.

Western North Carolina continues to be a top relocation destination for retirees and people seeking a good quality of life.

It never fails that every Friday I get a call or email from someone who is on their way and wants to see property this weekend.  Well, that is great.  However, most agents will have plans already.  This creates a problem.  So, what to do?

I try to coach the customers that I work with to contact me ahead of their trip.  That way I can get the right agent for them.  But when I get that last minute call it is my duty to find an agent with an open schedule.  I usually have to make several calls but I eventually get an agent with some time for these folks.  I have all the information I need from these folks before I make the call and I will be honest with the agent about the qualification to this client.

But, if you the agent gets a call from a client on short notice what do you ?  It depends.  How strong of a lead do you feel these people are?  Have you qualified them before making a commitment of your time (remember your list of questions?)?  Are you willing to rearrange your schedule?  If this is the first time you have dealt with this client are they willing to meet you at the office first (if not this is a huge warning sign!)?  If the answer to these questions has you second guessing putting off that weekend fishing trip then there is a way to generate business even if you decide to not work with these last minutes lookers.

It is really simple.  Refer them to an agent in your office.  The best agents to do this with are the new ones.  They will be eager to get the business and chances are they have a wide open schedule.  You should have all of the important information to pass on to them.  If things pan out then at least you get a referral fee.  Not only that but you also have a new friend!  You will want to agree to a referral fee beforehand and you had better get it in writing.

It is up to you on what to do with this type of call.  Depending on how your year is going you may want to take them out yourself.

There is a multitude of ways to communicate today.  What you communicate is what is most important!

I received a call today from a client that I had recently assigned to one of our agents.  She wasn't happy because no one had contacted her regarding her move to the Western North Carolina area.  I had assigned an agent to her two days before and I remembered getting a note from the agent.  While I had her on the phone I pulled her file and sure enough, the agent had made contact.  Turns out our agent had spoken with her husband.  I guess he didn't bother to tell his wife about that.  Whoops!

Seems like I've run into this situation a few times before.  The husband calls to make an appointment to see a home but when our agent makes an appointment to show them the home, the wife isn't on board.  Another instance was when a woman called to list her home and sell her house.  Well, guess what, hubby didn't know about this.  See a reoccurring theme?

What is frustrating is that our agents have to take time out of their schedule to deal with these situations.  When it doesn't pan out because of one of the parties it doesn't look good for me.  But it is not because I didn't ask questions.

Here's the deal.  Even the most seasoned agent will run into these time wasting situations.  They are not completely avoidable.  However, you can cut down on them considerably.  How?  Ask as many questions as you can.  Anyone who is in this business should learn to qualify your prospects long before getting someone in a car or researching a CMA.  The more information that you can get from them the better.  Anyone who has a hard time answering your questions shouldn't get as much as a pencil mark in your planner.  Your time is your money and you don't want to waste either.  If you are a rookie don't chase after that mystery lead.  If they don't want to tell you a simple thing such as their address then chances are you won't have a chance at getting them to make an offer on something.  When I speak with someone I tend to get as much information as I can.  If they don't want to give up the 411 then it is a good idea to end the conversation.  Not only is it a good practice for your business but also for your safety.

I have a stack of forms sitting on my desk that I use whenever I SPEAK with someone (the initial internet contact is a whole different animal).  Having that form handy gets the lines of communication going between you and your client.  It is a most useful tool to have and it makes sure that you cover the basics.  It is the basic questions that will keep you in the red and you or your agents working with the right people.  Sometimes this is our first communication, sometimes it is after we have traded several emails.  The point is that I now have several ways to get in touch with them, I know who will be involved in a purchase, I have an idea of what their financial plans are for making a purchase, I know if they have a home to sell and I can generate a referral from that, I know when they plan to purchase, I know what they are looking for and most importantly I know if they are working with other agents.  What I don't know is if they talk to each other but that is a subject for a different website!

Well, looks like I have a way to go to make it to the top.  I hope that this becomes a regular thing for me. 

So, I guess I need to write about real estate, hun?  The market here is slightly slow right now but nothing like say...Florida or Colorado or California.  Our market has been strong and steady for several years now.  That is what we like to see.  There is not a glut of inventory, the demand is steady and our market has a huge second home /retirement sector that continues to thrive.  Asheville and the surrounding areas have been in many top ten lists for various publications and websites.

I've just invited some friends in the industry to participate in this website.  Couldn't hurt, right?  So, if you are reading this and haven't signed up I encourage you to do so.  The average consumer is starting their search for a property in the internet and the numbers keep going up and up.  Having a web presence can only help even if it is a little blog that you update once a month.  It may be even therapeutic.

I spend a lot of time communicating with people from around the USA via email and phone calls (sometimes from other countries as well).  I would estimate that 80 % of my contacts come from email and the other 20% is phone calls and mail.  I had 58 of my assigned transactions close in 2007.  That was out of about 200 assignments.  Not to shabby.  If I could only focus on that aspect of my job I think I could have handled about 30 more transactions.  There is a bevy of things that I do as part of my job and only so much time to do it.

When someone contacts me most everyone is looking for information on a particular listing, what our area is like, the market and what the people are like.  They are usually pleased to know that I can help them with all of that and then some.  I can help them with selling their current home, get move quotes, get lodging information if they are going to visit first and even help with job information.  Then, only when they are ready or their situation dictates it, I will assign one of our agents to begin working with them.  I haven't been personally involved in a sale in over 1 1/2 years.

I'm not your typical real estate agent, hun?

Hi, folks!  This is my initial blog on this exceptional website that I've just discovered.   As you can see I am a licensed real estate broker in North Carolina but my job is not to sell homes.  I am an information resource for buyers and sellers of property in our area.  When someone is ready to use one of our agents then it is my job to assign one to them.

Asheville is going through a warm winter so far.  Today is is cloudy but in the mid 50's.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be in the 60's.  Not a typical January.

So, if you are one of the many that wants to live in our very beutiful part of the country please let me know.  I'm here to help.