I'm not working today. Today is a planned day off and I am re-reading one of my favorite fiction authors - Randy Wayne White - and came across the following passage. It reminded me of how I changed my work philosophy last year.

"Hah! It is always business with you! It is a bad thing, a very bad thing to think of nothing but work." They were inside Rivera's tent now: a high room of canvas with Coleman lanterns hanging from wooden supports and sandbags piled chest high around the inside perimeter. Ford stood while Rivera went behind a great metal desk and began to rummage through a box, but still lecturing. "You should use me as your example .... I am about to lead my army into a great revolution. I am about to assume command of my beloved country. I have a thousand things to do; ten million people depend on me, but I make sure that I take time for recreation." Rivera took something from the box and placed it on the desk: a pale-gray uniform, folded. A baseball uniform. (From Sanibel Flats by Randy Wayne White)

I learned a great lesson in 2009 and it changed my life - and that of my family's.

I always thought that if I only I worked every minute of every hour of every day that I would succeed in real estate. I always thought the answer to the question of how to succeed was simple - work, work, and more work.

But last summer I was privileged to be seated at a table at the Floyd Wickman Summer Forum with some very insightful - and successful - real estate agents, who proceeded to tell me the truth.

Yes, the truth. The simple truth. They made it all seem just so simple.  

The more we all talked and shared about our business practices; about what worked and didn't work, about our passions not only for our chosen profession, but our passions about the ones we love; the more it became apparent to them that I was working way too hard, and that not only was I suffering because of it, but so was my family.

I believe their exact words were, "you're going to crash and burn." They also said, "Don't worry. We've been there, done that. And we know what you need to do."

Their solution was simple. Take time off.

In fact, PLAN regular time off. One realtor even advised me to go straight home and put a deposit down on a nice get-away with the family - non refundable. Then tell them what I'd done and ask them to help me succeed so that we could all reap the benefits.

So that's what I did.

And two weekends ago was the first official "Reap the Benefits" weekend with my husband, one of my sons (son #2 is Navy and couldn't get leave), his wife, three of my grandchildren, my daughter, her husband, my brother, his wife and two daughters, and my mom and step-dad. We had a ball together!

And last week I found out I'd had my biggest year ever and had made my company's President's Club and Top 25 (out of 275 agents.)

I hadn't had a vacation with my family for over five years. Yes, FIVE YEARS!

When I snuck out of my annual meeting to call my oldest son to tell him of my award, the first thing he said, as he laughed, was, "Does this mean we get to go on another Family Weekend?"

"Damn-betcha," was my reply.

I have a connection with the producer of Extreme Makeover: Home Edtion. They are looking for stories in Ohio, as well as Minnesota, Missouri, and Washington State.  Can we count on you to reach out to all you know to find a deserving family?

ATTENTION!  THIS IS A MUST READ!

Please reach out to your community to help us find the right families.  If you are an Extreme Makeover Home Edition viewer then you know that they have been focusing on Heroes.  Think about someone who is needy and deserving but whose own home is in urgent need of repair and they are financially unable to repair it.

Here are some of the criteria:

1.      The applicant must own their home and have deed or title to it.  (a mortgage on it is fine and expected)

2.      There must be an urgent need for the makeover.

3.      The applicant's home should not be a nice or newer home (remember, they tear them down) and home should have serious issues.

4.      Any extra story of deserving in an interesting way would be a nice additional element.

5.      This is not necessary but it's always nice if there are children in the family.

As you all have come to realize... our true heroes in need are often humble and won't ask for help.  Please obtain as much information as possible and forward it to me immediately.  Time is of the essence! 

Find us deserving Firefighters, Police Officers, EMTs, Teachers or Healthcare Workers (or any deserving person in the communty who is always doing for others) and I will submit the information to my contact at Extreme Makeover Home Edition. 

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

 

2010 Motivational Video. Hoping to help you start the year of right with a little bit of fun, a little bit of motivation, and a lot of LOVE!

This sort of reminds me of Dr. Seuss, but truthfully I have no idea who the author is - it wasn't me, though.

I want to use this for some classes I hope to be teaching in the coming year, coupled with the phrase "Confidence is Contagious!"

Have a terrific 2K10!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JFg-5EENU8

Wrapping for Charity in Toledo Ohio is what Caper's Pizza Place will doing this evening! Join Caper's Thursday, December 17th at 6pm for gift-wrapping!

Donations will be given to the Seagate Food Bank (wrapping will be exchanged for non-perishable goods or cash donations, a limit does apply.)

Bring in a non-perishable item December 14th through December 22nd and receive 10% off your entree!

Help Caper's Pizza Place support the Seagate Good Bank!

The Top 10 People to Have in Your Book of Business

10.  Any Washington politician up for re-election next year - there's a fair to even chance they're going to be relocating

 9.   Any Health Insurance Company Executive - they're all going to be DOWN-sizing to a smaller home in the near future.

 8.   Any of the new Washington Healthcare Bureaucrats - they're going to be UP-sizing to a BIGGER home in the near future  

 7.    Anyone who makes batteries for electric cars

 6.   Any owner of a Hummer dealership

 5.   Anybody that invents french fries that are good for you

 4.   Anybody that saw G. Gordon Liddy's commercials and took his advice to BUY GOLD.

 3.   Any Lottery winner - either when they first win the money - or after they've lost it all. If you're good at follow-up, that will probably be TWO transactions in one year

 2.   Any allergy doctor -  they make a ton of money because their patients never get better and they never die

and, the NUMBER ONE PERSON to have in your real estate Book of Business ..... drumroll please ...

 

 1.  Tiger Woods -  who will soon be buying at least a 12-pack of new homes   

 

(This Top Ten list was written and compiled by Dee Nofziger. If, however, you are a current or past graduate of any of the Floyd Wickman programs or have attended one of Floyd Wickman's Master Sales Professional or Forum events, please feel free to use this blog material after simply emailing me at deenofziger@bex.net to let me know. Please include a link to my post in your own post, if you are using it online. If you have never trained with any of the Floyd Wickman programs, please contact me for further information.)

Home Sales Statistics for Lucas County Ohio   Up to date on 11/13/2009

Single Family Residence
Time Period	Number of Sales	Median Sale Price
Sep 2009	390	$96,167
Sep 2008	430	$96,250
Aug 2009	442	$116,095
Aug 2008	363	$115,000
2009 YTD	4,109	$85,000
2008	4,376	$95,000

Condominium
Time Period	Number of Sales	Median Sale Price
Sep 2009	20	$116,000
Sep 2008	22	$102,950
Aug 2009	24	$87,450
Aug 2008	18	$121,250
2009 YTD	192	$106,000
2008	207	$108,000

Statistics taken from Realist.

For more information on the local Toledo Ohio and surrounding area real estate, please contact Dee Nofziger at dee@danberry.com.

 

Double Super Secret Loss Mitigation Dept. Phone Numbers/Faxes/Contact Names

I posted the original post to my blog over a year ago and ran across it again. It dawned on me that we need this info even more now than we did a year ago.

Original post:

My broker found a blog that listed zillions of phone and fax numbers, along with CONTACT NAMES for many lender's Loss Mitigation Departments.

Many times it's much easier to have a foot in the door, but in times like these even a pinky toe might help!

Loss Mitigation Department Phone Numbers, Faxes, and Contact Names

Please pass along any updated numbers and names you may know of or find in your daily course of business!

An Early Christmas Present for Move-Up Buyers - Revised Tax Credit New and Improved.

Santa isn't just stuffing the stockings of first time homebuyers this Christmas, he's stuffing the ones hanging from move up buyer's mantles, too.

I have said all along that the people who need help are the homeowners whose home values have fallen in the last few years, but can't afford to wait until the market turns around to move.

Sometimes "life" happens and someone gets transferred, or loses a job, or gets ill, or divorced, or, or, or ... and if we're going to help a segment of the population with their real estate transactions, then move-up or move-down, or just plain move-out buyers are a worthy segment, too.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not so sure about all this bail-out mania from the powers that be, but if it's going to happen anyway, then I agree that first time homebuyers aren't the only deserving homebuyers.

Go ahead and watch the video, it's a pretty cool way to get the information to you. Then afterwards, contact me for more information or to see what homes are still available in Northwest Ohio!

(Taken from my recent Point2Technologies newsletter.)

How we calculate the Real Estate Confidence Index ...

Each month, Point2 surveys its members across North America to get a sense for how real estate professionals feel about their current and future market conditions.

Because Point2 Agent includes many thousands of subscribers, from every U.S. state and every Canadian province, the Real Estate Confidence Index survey gathers data from disparate areas and across many different types of markets.

Respondents are asked to rate, on a scale of 1 to 10, how confident they are in their current market, in their market in the next 3-6 months(near term), and in their market in the next 12-18 months(long term). Respondents are also given the option to add comments. Responses are purely subjective.

Once these responses are gathered, a statistical mean on the 1-10 scale is derived, and this becomes the current Real Estate Confidence Index.

Point2 typically receives more than 3,000 respondents in the U.S., covering every U.S. state, Puerto Rico and Guam. While the sample size used to determine the Real Estate Confidence Index tends to be statistically valid, it is important to note that the Real Estate Confidence Index is a purely subjective survey, and is in no way intended to be an accurate reflection of current market conditions. This survey is based on the opinions of real estate professionals across the country.

Feel free to browse my Point2Homes website at www.FindaHomeToledo.com for FREE MLS searches and loads of info.

Click on the box to view specific states. Click on the black arrows for past monthly data.

More and more homeowners are taking potential energy loss in their homes more serious. Not only are they concerned with wasting our planet's resources, but also wasting their own monetary resources.

This video provided by the National Association of Realtors gives an excellent overview of some things homeowners can do to check their home for energy loss. Some are easier than others, but all give insight to potential problems that could drain your pocketbook.

More oftne than not lately when I show homes, my potential buyers asks me, "What are the average utility costs for the property?" The local Toledo OH area utility providers are usually more than happy to give me this information when I call. If you are currently looking for a home, especially an older resale property, please don't hesitate to ask your real estate agent to get these figures for you. They are an important part of your monthly budget and should be considered when making an offer on a prospective home.