As a Real Estate agent we have opportunities every day to take the road that always leads to nowhere.

You see we all have computers in our life and we would never knowingly download a virus or do anything to corrupt the information on this piece of necessary equipment, now would we?

Yet as agents we will sometimes allow negative press or negative people to form our opinion or impact the way we do business. In effect downloading a virus into our very own human computer.

It is difficult, but in order to succeed at anything you need to treat your brain as if it was a computer when it comes to negative information. You can’t let the competition or the media or anything define you or your business. Some of the best agents today are in some of the so called worst markets. Amazing isn’t it? While most people ran from the market, they embraced it with good solid training and a business plan and then out of the chaos make a very nice dollar. These agents are establishing market dominance that will grow as the market shifts again in a few years.

Do yourself and your business a great favor, only feed your brain positive, motivational material and limit your exposure to the negative factors in our world.

You will grow in so many ways if you do.

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Is customer service missing in your business? I had a great visit with a seller today in Tyler, Texas about his total dislike of real estate agents and after much discussion finally traced it to the fact that he had received terrible service from at least 2 other agents who had had his house listed. Amazingly enough, he had come by to say he had gotten great service from an agent in our office. It is amazing that in a day where good customers are increasingly hard to come by, some agents still believe that a sign in the yard and a Casper the ghost impression is still acceptable in today’s market. This seller paid full commission and offered a bonus to the selling agent on a home of 300 thousand and 2 of the so called experts treated him with no respect.

The other agents said open houses didn’t work and home tours were a thing of the past.

 Really?

An in office home tour ended up bringing a buyer to an open house and that resulted in the sale of the home.

Yes, every office has them, but we need to fight for better customer service at every corner of the business. I believe that if we as Real Estate “Professionals” refuse to accept substandard customer service we will send those that give us all a bad name packing. By policing our own, our image improves and we earn the trust of the public.

Well what do you know another great idea from the government fails? In 2010 with fully one quarter of all mortgages under water and people looking to strategic foreclosure as an option our lovely brain trust in Washington comes up with a brilliant plan to save millions of these properties and adjust the value.

Simply put they would allow homeowners the opportunity to refinance their FHA loan at the adjusted value provided they had a good pay history. Pretty simple you might think, but after 1 year only 304 homeowners have been helped and the program has only 1 year left.

 Bank of America, who received billions and billions in bailout money to help with loans, refuses to participate in the program. After their merger with Country Wide they control a full quarter of all FHA loans and received more bailout money than any other bank, but refuse any help for their customers in need.

 The bureaucratic red tape created with this program guaranteed its failure.

 The lender had to provide a short sale price and most have refused to provide one for the program.

 Then the old lender and the new one had to agree on the appraised value.

 Lenders who did participate made it very uncomfortable for borrowers to even move forward, by continually delaying and then requiring new paperwork, claiming what they had was out of date or lost.

 The administration claimed millions would be helped and help stabilize the foreclosure problem and yet only 304 were helped and millions were foreclosed on.

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"Everybody is entitled to their opinion, no mater how wrong it may be!"

I have been watching for sometime now what has been going on in this great country of ours and I am appalled to say the least.

If your Christian, white, have money, believe in self reliance, love your countries flag, or generally believe in the things this great country was founded on, you are labeled a trouble maker. What? Yes a trouble maker!

You now have more rights in our society if you believe in a religion that would kill you for disagreeing with it. Laws concerning our sovereignty are routinely disregarded and anyone seeking to enforce them is labeled a racist. Our Government believes it knows how much money you should earn. Our elected officials now dictate to us what will be done with an arrogance that would make a King proud. Votes are routinely bought with programs and benefits stolen from the producers. We had a war because of "Taxation without representation" and yet today it occurs and no one says a word. The population that pays "No Tax" comprise over 50% of the population and controls the representation.

To say we have lost our moral compass would be an understatement. We have banished God from school and public places under the guise of separation of church and state. This was never intended by our founding fathers and is a gross distortion of the constitution.

We have let environmentalists take control of our energy, housing and future with what amounts to fraudulent science and hyped claims that could never be proven.. Because of the environmental lobby in America, we have created a dependence on energy from other countries that gives power to tyrants and evil that is unspeakable. By our reliance on these other countries we have given them the resources to attack us with what amounts to, our own money and resources.

Politicians have used untold billions of dollars to secure blocks of the voting public that have killed economic growth and the future for our children. Funding bridges to nowhere and programs that create "dependency" instead of "Independence" have crippled us to the point that our future is in real jeopardy.

In the very near future you will begin to see "Income Flight" to States like Arizona and others that just say stop the madness. Producers will relocate to places that appreciate their production and don't try to tax it to death. If the federal government attacks these states, we will begin to break apart and become smaller countries in order to retain the vision and standards of those residing in those states. There is no doubt that different parts of our country think far differently from one another, so this may not be as bad as we might first think.

States will begin to look at just how much they get of their federal tax dollars back and start seeing it as an investment. When the return for that state is no longer viable, then changes will be made at a very swift pace.

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Teacher Deems American Flag Drawing 'Offensive' -- While Student in Same Class Praised for Drawing Obama...

Isn't one attached to the other?

In a state with the nation's highest jobless rate, landscaping companies are finding some job applicants are rejecting work offers so they can continue collecting unemployment benefits.

Pays more to be lazy now!


Ga. Seniors Told They Can't Pray Before Meals.

Maybe they should pray after?

Sen. Robert Menendez is urging the Major League Baseball Players Association to boycott next year's All Star Game in Phoenix over the recently passed Arizona law to crack down on illegal immigrants.

Great leader here. No respect for the sovereignty of a state.

US President Barack Obama lamented Sunday that in the iPad and Xbox era, information had become a diversion that was imposing new strains on democracy, in his latest critique of modern media.

While he posted on Facebook with his Blackberry. Real Presidential!

In her undergraduate thesis at Princeton, President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan, lamented the decline of socialism in the country as "sad" for those who still hope to "change America."

Oh Yeah, she will make a great justice.

FCC ignores federal court, moves to regulate Internet.

Just ignore the law and the recent loss in court... Hmmm..

A high school sophomore in Texas says he has received a three-day suspension for taking down a Mexican flag that was hung in his school higher than the Stars and Stripes.

I wonder what happens on St. Patrick's day?

- Attorney General Eric Holder said Sunday that the Justice Department was considering a federal lawsuit against Arizona's new immigration law.

The law looks a lot like the federal one. So why bother? Respect the states choice.

　The World Health Organization is moving full speed ahead with a controversial plan to impose billions of dollars in global consumer taxes on such things as Internet activity and everyday financial transactions like paying bills online - while its spending soars and its own financial house is in disarray.

Great, why don't we just tax the air we breath?

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae (FNM: 1.0675, 0.0475, 4.66%) bled another $13.1 billion during the first quarter, prompting the U.S.-owned company to request another $8.4 billion cash infusion from the Treasury Department.

No accountability, no problem. Right?

Officials say at least 15 people have been killed by two bombings that hit the southern city of Basra, pushing the death toll for Iraq's worst day of violence this year to nearly 100.

We want to have a dialogue with these guys?

On Cinco de Mayo, students at Live Oak High School in California were asked to leave campus because they wore an American flag in a display of patriotism.

What country do we live in?

The Agriculture Department said 39.68 million people, or 1 in 8 Americans, were enrolled for food stamps during February, an increase of 260,000 from January. USDA updated its figures on Wednesday.

Economic recovery in action?

Calling nuclear weapons "disgusting and shameful," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged the United Nations on Monday to punish countries like the United States that threaten to use them.

What a buffoon!

Starbucks Corp has been sued by a customer who allegedly suffered second-degree burns after being served tea that was too hot.

No cure for stupid!

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My version of "It's not rocket science!"

Today's world of real estate is to say the least, interesting. Sellers have to compete with short sales, foreclosures and a host of other problems plaguing the market. Is there hope? Yes, of course, but first we must realize that as real estate professionals, we need to be extremely knowledgeable and patient.

No longer is it good enough to just show homes and write a contract and go to a closing. We must be the calming voice of reason in a storm of ever changing rules and regulations. More and more, the real estate agent is the one that holds the deal together all the way thru the process. We must never assume that everyone is on the same page in today's world of real estate transactions. The front man for the lender claims to want to get the deal done when in reality he has no control over the process at all. The loan is in the hands of an "underwriter" who is nameless, faceless and views themselves as all powerful. The underwriter's in today's world of real estate look for reasons to reject a loan, not approve it. So we need to be half real estate agent and half counselor. People believe they are approved only to be told at the last minute they are not or that they need something that the underwriter has already received several times. Frustration can sometimes boil over into anger, so we must have a patient approach with both buyer's and seller's. Both buyer's and seller's do not understand when rules change in the middle of a transaction. To be honest, I am sure most agents don't understand this as well. Our system in place at present looks to cover all involved, so blame can be deflected in case of a problem. No one involved seems to want to "pull the trigger" on the deal, so it's easier to just say no, or throw up so many roadblocks the consumer just walks away in disgust. When you add asset managers to the mix on foreclosures and short sales you have a whole different dynamic, when it comes to problems and grief.

The solution we are finding effective is an old one, but a very good one. Local lenders have gotten back in the lending business in a big way. Yes they can and do sell the note, but more and more they are holding on to the note and servicing the account themselves. They know about local conditions and community needs far better than the big faceless giants that helped create the mess we are in today. One of the greatest things occurs when dealing with a local lending source to, the buyer has interaction on a consistent basis with their banker or loan officer and foreclosures come down. Wow, personal attention equals better returns! Who would have ever thought? Truth be told, everyone thought this, in this great country. Everyone but the ones who created the mess we are in today, that is.

So it's simple really, build your brand locally with strong affiliations with lenders in your own town and you can and will grow your business in ways you can only dream of. Also, seek out the best training and knowledge available from a real estate company in your area.

Terry Miller

Keller Williams Tyler, Texas

903-534-6600 email: terry@kwtyler.com

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Nice warm day in Tyler Texas. Record snow fall and fun to be had by all. We all came in and to our joy the phone is ringing. I hope everyone stays safe and enjoys the show mother nature has to offer. Have a great snow day with the kids today.

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