realtors: Early Voting Begins in Texas Today!
- 02/17/10 05:00 AM
EARLY VOTING BEING IN TEXAS TODAY! Early voting begins Tuesday, February 16 and ends Friday, February 26, 2010 Avoid long lines. Vote early. Early voting in person is easier than you think. You don't have to stand in long lines on election day. If you are a registered voter, you can vote early at any convenient location in your county. With more than 77,000 Texas REALTORS®, we are a strong voice, but only if we participate in the process and vote. Don't get stuck in a long line on election day: Vote early! Vote for Texas Association … (1 comments)
realtors: HVCC on it's way out???
- 11/04/09 11:37 PM
HVCC ON IT'S WAY OUT??? Many a REALTOR, lender, buyer and seller know the perils of the HVCC on their real estate purchases and sales. How many deals have been tanked because of appraisal issues that have been born of this intelligent move by the government to try to play moral referee in the real estate arena? Much like anything that the government gets involved in, it has zero foresight and of course, they never consider the consequences. Where were these "watchdogs" when anyone who could fog a mirror was being given a mortgage??? Enough of my political rant...it's time … (5 comments)
realtors: Life without real estate??? Inconceivable!!!!
- 10/13/09 01:57 AM
Life without real estate??? Inconceivable!!! Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking at my son's school to the career connections classes (four in all) about my profession. My son is in the seventh grade at Mountain Valley Middle School at Canyon Lake, Texas and all seventh and eighth graders have to take the career connections class where they learn about different careers and what you need in terms of skill set, education and personality types to succeed in those trades. My son brought home a form and asked me to fill it out and basically I was volunteering to do … (6 comments)
realtors: Sellers cutting prices??? Just list it at the right price from the start!!!
- 08/27/09 09:21 AM
Sellers cutting prices??? Just list it at the right price from the start!!! I keep reading articles and blogs about sellers cutting prices over the extended and often long shelf life of a listing. I have an announcement to make..."This is not 2006...it is a buyer's market...the market is flooded with available homes...there are foreclosures, REOs, HUD homes and short sales that you are competing with!" The way I see it sellers have three options in this market... Price it right and sell it! Price it wrong and reduce it until it sells for less than it should have! Don't … (3 comments)
realtors: Ballot Order Set for Constitutional Amendments Election in Texas
- 08/25/09 02:57 AM
Ballot order set for constitutional amendments election in Texas. In the wake of the Texas Legislatures 81st session there are several constitional amendments that will be up for public approval this November. Voter turnout is notoriously low for these type of elections but every citizen needs to appreciate their freedom to choose in this great nation and get out the vote on November 3, 2009!
Ballot order set for constitutional amendments election. Texans will go to the polls on November 3 to approve or disapprove of proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution that were passed by legislators during the … (1 comments)
realtors: All those little letters after agent's names may not mean what you think!
- 08/24/09 08:08 AM
All those little letters after agent's names may not mean what you think! I remember my first designation. It was the GRI and I worked really hard to get it my first year after I got my license. I worked for a broker who is an industry icon that I respect immensely and she had more little letters after her name than I even knew existed. I wanted to earn those letters too! At first it was an ego thing...but once I finished the GRI I knew it was about personal growth and using my new-found knowledge to serve my … (11 comments)
realtors: Gone but not forgotten...
- 08/05/09 02:29 PM
Gone but not forgotten...Saturday I lost a good friend... our community lost a leader, a wife lost a husband and business partner, three children lost their Dad, three grandchildren lost their Grandpa, our industry lost a fine REALTOR, a church lost a faithful servant and many hearts are aching tonight. Mine is among them...my friend and fellow agent Mike Carl passed away unexpectedely Satuday evening at the age of 58 and the words I keep uttering and hearing repeated over and over again are "stunned, shocked and unbelievable." Today we said "goodbye" to our friend...hundreds of REALTORS, affiliates, friends, families, … (4 comments)
realtors: Treasure every moment....Farewell to a Friend...
- 08/02/09 01:57 AM
Last night I cried myself to sleep...I learned of the passing of my friend, fellow REALTOR and awesome person, Mike Carl who along with his wonderful wife and my good friend Kathy made up Team No Limits of Keller Williams Heritage. Many of us are mourning the unexpected passing of someone who always had a great positive attitude, always had a warm smile, always made you laugh and loved working as a REALTOR with his wife and spending time with his kids and grandkids. I was particularly shocked...because I was just talking to Mike at the ribbon cutting ceremony for … (16 comments)
realtors: REALTORS on Facebook....Get A Life!!!
- 06/13/09 11:04 AM
PRESENT COMPANY INCLUDED!!! I was so tired this morning! Why, you ask??? Well, I was one of the crazy, techie, cutting edge, blogging, social networking REALTORS who evidently has no life who was sitting on Facebook last night for the 11:00 pm start of the claiming of domain names for Facebook profiles! Now before you start judging me...I wasn't alone...I can name names...but for the sake of maintaining a certain level of integrity and decorum, I shall abstain from mentioning anyone in particular! Other than owning up to the fact that I was one of the aforementioned parties. There have … (45 comments)
realtors: An Active Rain Friend Sighting!
- 06/11/09 01:38 AM
I was attending the SABOR (San Antonio Board of REALTORS) Broker/Manager Meeting on Tuesday and had the privilege of meeting an Active Rain friend in person! I was visiting with a couple of friends when a fellow red-head approached our table and it was none other than Sheila Moran, a fellow Active Rainer, Facebook Friend and Comal County REALTOR! I said "You're Sheila!" It was funny because she recognized me from my photo online and that is exactly how I recognized her as well. I think that it is really cool to network online and then get the opportunity to … (4 comments)
realtors: Am I breaking child labor laws???
- 05/27/09 02:41 PM
It's far from a sweat shop...but I can be a slave driver... I am getting serious. I am making commitments. I am walking the walk. I am putting my 12 year old son to work in my office this summer! Okay...before you all go all "poor little guy" on me...he gets to go to basketball camp, boy scout camp, band camp and youth camp...so it won't be like he is pulling 40 hour shifts for his entire summer vacation! He is so awesome on the computer and instead of driving humvees in a combat zone... or slaying the latest arch-enemy … (12 comments)
realtors: UUMMMMM....Haven't we been down this path before???
- 05/20/09 01:48 AM
I HAVE BEEN WATCHING THE "WAFFLING" THAT HAS BEEN TAKING PLACE... regarding the $8,000. FTHB Tax Credit and I must say that I am seeing some shear stupidity beginning to surface. I am no philosopher, but I have been through enough real estate and economic cycles to know a storm brewing when I see one. First we need to understand the basic premise that "nothing is FREE!" and that if it looks to good to be true, it probably is. SO LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THIS $8,000. TAX CREDIT THINGY... First it's FREE, then it's a loan, then it's … (1 comments)
realtors: Property appreciation in my neck of the woods!
- 05/19/09 02:04 AM
I ALWAYS LOVE TO START THE DAY OFF ON A POSITIVE NOTE! So last night I was bumming out after reading some online postings by people who compared ALL real estate agents to used car salesmen, crooks and bottom feeders. Needless to say I woke up this morning and had to make a decision about how I want to face my day. Never one to stay mired in a pity party, I chose the positive. I drove to work enjoying the fact that it is a gorgeous sunny day in the Texas Hill Country and that I am going to … (5 comments)
realtors: Because you believed in me...
- 05/15/09 02:26 AM
I am an accomplished woman. I am a single mom. I am a successful REALTOR. I am an entrepreneur. I am a dreamer. I am a fighter. I am an optimist. I am... because you believed in me. Four years ago today I lost my father. Daddy was way too young to die. He was only 66 and was taken from us too early by a brutal disease that he bravely fought for three years. Leukemia is something that happens to other people...but that day it happened to my family. I was blessed to be at Daddy's bedside when he … (6 comments)
realtors: Finding the you in real estate...
- 05/08/09 03:13 AM
LET'S FACE IT...WE DON'T REALLY SELL HOMES... The home sells itself. If someone loves a home enough, it doesn't matter if the agent is completely incompetent, the buyer will find a way to end up owning that home. That being said, the question boils down to this...what do we sell? I could probably ask that question in a room of agents and get several different answers, and if I were a betting man (I don't bet and I am not a man!) I would bet that the majority of the answers would all be linked by a very common denominator. … (4 comments)
realtors: Today is a stark reminder of my "WHY" for being in real estate...
- 05/03/09 12:27 PM
LAST NIGHT I WAS CELEBRATING WITH OLD FRIENDS IN PREPARATION FOR MY UPCOMING 25TH CLASS REUNION AT A BEAUTIFUL RANCH IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY... I got home about 12:30 this morning and decided to check on Facebook before going to bed and I am so grateful that I did. I learned that the 22 year old daughter of one of my high school friends was tragically killed in an automobile accident in Georgia earlier that evening. I sat there staring at the screen on my laptop in stunned silence as tears ran down my face. My only son Jordan … (10 comments)
realtors: Honesty loses the listing!!!
- 04/16/09 07:23 AM
I am a firm believer in honesty, being ethical and always erring on the side of doing the right thing. I guess that is why is always amazes me when you hear people say that honesty is important, but then sometimes when you are honest, you lose business. As is the case with me this week. I am a new broker/owner and have recently recruited my first agent in a small office and you guessed it, I actually have to list and sell real estate to make a living. So I do come to the office early every morning and … (9 comments)
realtors: Effective time management...or where did the day go???
- 04/15/09 02:13 AM
Do you ever have those days where you jump in the car to start your day and the next thing you know it's time to go home and you have no clue what you accomplished, where the day went, why your "to do" list is still the same length and when you will catch up? I think that if you are in real estate you have had at least one day like this. The bane of the existance for the professional REALTOR, time management. Even those who do it well, probably struggled at one point in their career with "lost … (5 comments)
realtors: Winning with Marketing
- 04/14/09 01:34 AM
I hear brokers, managers and recruiters tell people, "You love houses and people? You would make a great REALTOR!" First let me say that I believe that is the biggest lie you can tell a person considering a career in real estate. I can say that in my career as a professional REALTOR, I spend very little time on loving people and houses! I do spend an extraordinary amount of time solving the problems that get the people I serve into the house they desire. I think of myself first and foremost as a problem-solver and educator. I want the … (4 comments)
realtors: Back to Basics...Have a plan in hand!
- 04/12/09 01:33 AM
I am flattered and honored at the overwhelming response to my blog of yesterday..."Back to Basics...First you show up!" I even got featured! Cool! More important than that I apparently made people stop and think and inspired some "back to basics" actions among the crowd. As I read the comments about my blog I started thinking..."Hmmm...perhaps I should follow up with a blog about part two of my back to basics thinking. As I mentioned in that blog, the second key ingredient to success in real estate after showing up is to have a plan in hand. I am a … (3 comments)
;)
;)
