WAYNE's Blog

Flying boat looked like a good thing untill we crashed!!!

WAYNE FURLONG (EXIT REALTY FOUNDATIONS) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:46:02 -0700

In dream state as a kid you always dreamed of the "Superman Thing" and kid flying us guys really never gave up on the thought of someday flying in a open cockpit plane of some sort , well this is a true story of a dream which very nearly turned to tragedy. I was in the Keys last year in June with my friend Steve ,it was oh so hot and humid and when we went to see a friend of Steve's he said come to the beach at @9:00 in the mornings and i will take you flying in my BOAT ( There's me thinking of maybe hes a Parrothead who just happened to know Jimmy Buffet with his Flying Boat) well it wasn't to be it was a 15' long inflatable boat with a redneck motor on the back with a Snow-mobile engine and it carried two people (we was hooked!!! the Pilot said put the helmet on and i put it on and he pointed where to sit in back and 10 seconds later we where flying at 500'!!!!!!!! 10 minutes later it was Steve's turn when he came down we looked at each other and said we want two .(pilot did a double back somersault with a half twist and landed on his feet punching the air and giving himself high fives and shouting "Who's your Daddy"

we spent the next two days getting our Ultralight Pilots license and passing (this is the most unbelievable thing coz me and Steve would not be thought of as the sharpest tools in the wood shed , between us to get the Florida Real Estate License took more times to take to pass then Great Brittan got Gold medals at the 2008 Olympics which is lots and lots ,we only passed coz we took it so many times we knew the Questions before they came up on the teleprompter computer screen.Now we be pilots and we got pocket licences for our wallets , "Now who's your Daddy"

after 10 hours or so with pilot instruction it was time for my solo ,i got in put my foot down on throttle and sped off wayyyyyyyy faster then with the Lard Ass pilot as his 220 lbs missing and my 200 lbs present i only needed less then 100 ' and i was going what felt like straight up i went up to 800 ' and went in for my first landing on the water ( i was scared outta my pants , really scared like all the minutes of training coming down to a good landing , and then Boom Splash i was landed and planing away for another go ,all fear set aside.that night Steve and i talked to the early hours about how we will sell high end Homes with free Aeriel Photos and future trips across the Everglades and on to the Bahamas ,My Dreams where filed with trips along the Amazon................THEN IT HAPPENED!

When Steve's plane arrived we decided to cancel mine and own the one plane together and after nearly 9 months of waiting for it to arrive from Italy (our thinking was if the Italians can make some of the best sports cars in the world why not flying boats believe for us it wasn't a stretch , as we where living our dream

We got our plane in Port Charlotte ,Steve spent the Morning taking it up and then it was my turn , i headed into the wind and got up to 50' and it wanted to come down sideways fast , i mean really fast .Like slow-mo fast , i felt like a down draft pushed me soooooooooo hard into the water and i really dont know how i managed to keep from turning over i went ashore and had enough for that day .

Stev and i went up next day , he as pilot me as ballast weight, we went up and flew 100' above the beach and saw Sharks and ambush waiting Tarpon , Beach Goers waved like we where Rock Stars,Life is good

we landed in a Barrier Island Lagoon , and Steve went to take off, we got up to about 150' and to the left was a 20' boat no where near our take off path was , then it happened we fell out of the sky heading straight for the boat with about 4 guys on-board,,, Steve had three choices ,water ,boat ,land ,as 150' falling goes real fast and a lot of luck took place we sort of veered to the land and hit with such a force i heard Steve's air got knocked out of his lungs as i was a tandem passenger and my 200 lbs weight slammed into him and i thought he was knocked out ,next i knew Steve said you OK i said yes but why are we going under water , then i saw the flying boat was turning Poseidon Adventure on us as the boat was turning over we couldn't get our safety belts loose it was in bedded in my fatness then the same time our life jackets inflated full open and Steve said he couldn't breath as the control bar was jammed across his chest ,and we where fast looking bad !!

then i heard shoots of "you OK" i remember screaming to stop the left wing from going under as we will tip over and drown ,these four Knights got under the wing tip and pushed in deep water enough to stop the roll,by this time i freed myself and floated away turned back and saw Steve got freed !

Our boat was a crumpled mess with the engine under water all electronics ,it was more like a submerrine then a boat

after a couple of hours one of the name less Knights got the engine going and we got back home with a badly damaged plane but alive thanks to our new friends...we never fixed the flying boat we gave it back to the guy in the keys ,and as we never had writing materials we could never thank the four guys who really saved Steve and i ,i felt bad as it was without doubt them who saved our Bacon

Now im out at the public marina and I'm with Steve and my son Chris's and St eves Dad Scott and i am waiting for Steve as always and i get talking to this guy about fishing and he mentioned a flying boat crash and low and behold its one of the guys who save us .he emailed me and wrote:

Wayne it was good to see you at the boat ramp last Sunday, Here are the names you requested. Steven Gossitt, grandson of the late Eddie Graham and son of Mike Graham both pro-wrestlers. Steven swam to you guys and got you out. we were afraid you would drown.
Robert Edwards was the boat driver, and helped pull the plane to shore. He owns Robert's Meats on West Shore in Tampa. Doug Carastro and his son Tony helped pull the plane in and Doug worked his magic and got the motor running. Doug owns Carastro TV on West Shore in Tampa. My name is Howard Godwin , retired Sheriff of Highlands County,Fl.
My wife said you wrote a article about this incident, I would love to see a copy of it.
I passed on your thank you to the rest of the gang, what a strange event to see you at the boat ramp. We were glad to help, you can pay us back by passing it on to someone else when the opportunity presents it self.

what can you say we is here selling real estate in Florida , and we lived our dream!!

(where looking at mini submersibles now !!)

(dont tell my wife)

Looked like a good idea flying in a ULTRALITE FLYING BOAT then surviving a crash!!!!

WAYNE FURLONG (EXIT REALTY FOUNDATIONS) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:40:32 -0700

Our boat was a crumpled mess with the engine under water all electronics ,it was more like a submerrine then a boat

what can you say we is here selling real estate in Florida , and we lived our dream!!

(where looking at mini submersibles now !!)

(dont tell my wife)

When Steves plane arrived we diceded to cancel mine and own the one plane together and after nearly 9 months of waiting for it to arrive from Italy (our thinking was if the Italians can make some of the best sports cars in the world why not flying boats believe for us it wasnt a stretch , as we where living our dream

what you always wanted to know about Real Estate but where to scared to ask!!

WAYNE FURLONG (EXIT REALTY FOUNDATIONS) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:57:43 -0700

I try to do a FSBO caravan at least twice a week and on the last time out i took out 9 agents with between 0 experience and 20 years experience in mortgage and real estate under her belt ,,,,i spied a Coldwell Banker home next to a FSBO the perfect chance to see what my agents know (or not know)..

i got everybody out and put my phone on speaker phone called Coldwell to get permission to view her home with newbee agents to explain the differences between frame stucco concrete block,hip gable roof etc etc

Coldwell banker agent loved the idea that a broker would take the time out to show what they really should know !!

then the nightmare began!!!!!!

i asked 20 questions just what would come out of my head !!

1...what is normal USA house voltage,where is 220v,in the home

2...whats a tray ceiling,vaulted,cathedral,

3...average door size...how high is the ceiling in family room,whats a french door,pocket door

4..elongated toilet,tile called in some bathrooms in the middle directive ,how to tell if bath is fiberglass,cast iron and steel,

5...counter tops granite whats a bulbous corner whats corian ,in kitchen,is 6" floor tile fashionable, age of fridge and where serial # is on it ,where is a reverse osmosis unit placed what is a reverse osmosis unit?,

6...what does a upside down bedroom wall socket mean,size of room with out using a ruler only what you have in your hands (11.5 x 8 paper)

7..where is the cove base located,,,,,,how can you tell cheap and expensive

8...whats orange peel wall ,,popcorn ceiling ,

9....14" x 12" room which is a den can you list as a bed room there is a door to it and no closet ?

10...where does sprinkler water come from?

11...what is that gray box outside (a/c unit )

12...pool heater is electric or gas or solar

13 ...is pool mar cite,gem coat,Diamond Britte?

14...average pool cage re screening cost ?

15..the grass Bahia,st Augustine Florine..Astro turf?

16...roof is it 3 tap architectural shingle how long is warranty average?

17...whats a soffet and

18...whats a line of death on concrete drive way ( where there is no gutter and water cascades on concrete and stains and pickpockets holes there

19...home is 1989 is a/c unit as old or newer

20...is the home worth $160,000 in this market ?

the above questions are a small sample i asked and nobody was even close to half right , i am so concerned about agents who must employ the pregnant pause selling routine where they say nothing and really hope these people like this home but please don't asked me any thing about this home as i really don't know!!

i then made buyer couples out of two agents and a agent to show home and sell it to them !!.it was a complete silence walk through ,,,,,i believe in the Vanna White sales approach where a agents hands a customer mls property report and says i will show you through the home and then you can take your time but pointing out different acpects of home .like tray ceiling french door its amazing how many home buyers heard the word but didn't know what a french door is!

it scared me so much that if you havent closed 6 homes this year you have to do the tour and pass !

when we got outside i called on speaker phone the Fsbo ( you remember the one next door) a lady answered i said i am showing the house next door to your "FOR SALE BY SECRET" and can you tell me something about your home ? its a great open up line to sellers to get the listing ! she went on to tell me about her home and i said i would like to show your home to my 9 agents some of who are working with buyers

you see i employ the 'fear AND greed tacket...and it always works

fear of my home not selling and greed of having ready and willing agents with clients in tow !!

after 5 minutes of backwards and forwards FOREPLAY she drops the bombshell that her whole family is wanting to move to Georgia and sell their homes ..........we listed 4 homes for $2.4 million......

i split up the homes and thats where my nightmare started agents are either super greedy of bossy ,

i looked up the listings and called meeting of all agents after pulling up 10 random listings and these 4 listing they where written crap ..no pictures ,subject line of description was 1.5 lines 18 words for a home that is $780,000 in our area that's 7 real homes worth , sizes no where near right , no mention of ocean access waterfront property deep dredged etc they all must of went to a different listing presentation then i did................................help!!!

So i revamped and made me the final over seer er of putting listings into the MLS,,,because as i learned from a Remax Broker if a agent puts wrong info in the MLS the agents and broker is in trouble with your boards ethics board!!

Please Brokers and agents check your Mls listings and see if they are up to scrath........

HOT BUTTONS WHEN TO USE THEM AND WHEN TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!!!

WAYNE FURLONG (EXIT REALTY FOUNDATIONS) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:19:43 -0700

How many Brokers and Agents get miffed with lack of listing from agents !!!!

I did a 2.5 hour class with 9 agents (i limit my class to 9 first come first serve) and after i prove howwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww easy it is to get FSBO'S (for sale by secret)

in our area FSBO's are drying up as the market is changing fast going to firm and not going down as we have been the last 18 months in some area's up to 40% DOWN from 2005 ....

We had our class but i do it different then most i ask questions that put agents on edge ,,,ya that's right i put them in the spotlight by teaching the 6 minute contract class then i stop and point to a agent and say im the seller and Mary why should list with you and not the Balloon company who will list my home for only 5%......the caught in the head-light look is better then HBO any day ,i teach the agents to think like a thief or chess player ,,,,that is to say think any permutation of any question and answerthat a client will ask will be dealt with and answered with no hesitation or shifty eye non contact.

Example ::: when reading the contract up side down and showing the client a point on it i stop and say Mary why you at 5% ...she says right of the bat ,without blinking or hesitation ..Sir when a buying Real Estate agent has 6 homes on his desk to show and he spread them out going from 2% to 4% the 2% home the buyer will never see it will be dumped in the garbage bin (its greedy nature of more money from more commission equates to

$200,000 home 2% COMMISSION TO YOU IS $4000 BEFORE BROKER SPLIT

$200,000 home 4% COMMISSION TO YOU IS $8000 BEFORE BROKER SPLIT .....SO YOU REALLY THINK MR AND MRS BUYER WILL EVER SEE THE 2% HOME .............................

Mary was the best person with the quickest reply saying seeing the buying agent with all the homes spreed out which one would you show the buyers......

So we went out and first FSBO's i went down any road America and found two homes for sale a Coldwell Banker home next to a FSBO's i called the Coldwell Banker agent and showed the 9 agents every thing about a Florida home :

1...how to tell a CBS home from frame stucco

2...to tell if a/c unit is as old as home and what a 12 seer means

3...How to walk into a room and instantly measure the room in 3 seconds .Coz most people don't know the difference between a standard 7' by 3' door and tiles which are 12 " or 18" or what there out stretched arms measure ...

4...Take them out side and show brass nail in street which is the lot boundary mark (all 9 agents were blown away when showed how to tell where the lot starts and ends

5...some of the agents couldn't tell the difference between A/C unit and pool heater ,propane buried tank which shows only green 24" lid with a small GRAB hole i said BILL lift the lid to show all whats under it ,then i told him to stop as under neath a lot of the time a Snake will be hiding under it !!!!!!

6...tell if stove is old or cleaned up old or new never used (Its amazing how many have the pregnant pause moments if you cant be always pointing out things in the home and when your driving between homes ,always be pointing and showing off your neighborhood

7...and where to look for old damage etc

Then i called on speaker phone the FSBO's next door and said My name is Wayne Furlong from Exit realty i am next door showing your neighbors home and two of our 9 agents want to know more about your home ,how many square feet is the home and when was it built(i asked 20 questions and never asked the price seller will always give )i asked is it possible to show. she said shes at work, then she went on to say she has a real estate license and 4 other home shes trying to sell

so we have a possible 4 homes and a new recruit and it took only less then 1 hour ,,my Agents are stoked and ready to go ..... i got back and said who wants to go back and see if we can get the homes all wanted to go as the seller has her License with a small independent brokerage and has a full time job ,,

We will know how successful we are next week!!!

ALLS IM SAYING IS GET LISTINGS NOW OR JUST BE A "SHOULDNT OF DONE IT AGENT"

"Team Building, i picked them,i trained them.i set them loose, HELP!!!!!!!

WAYNE FURLONG (EXIT REALTY FOUNDATIONS) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:59:33 -0700

First week of the Super team debutand were on"HURRICANE WATCH" for two days !!!,what a way to start a Domination of our REAL ESTATE community, my 18 year came in this morning from his Night watchman job and came in with 8 FSBO's a couple of observation mistakes but a good 1st round ( he also brought in 4 newspaper advertisements and brought in a neighbor for a interview to be a agent )so in all he did more for my office then all combined agents he just sees it !!!!

my 22 year old whet and did some BPO,s picture and came back with 7 FSBO,S ,so in all 15 fsbos to call i called one and it was a bank who said i have 9 homes in my area they have been looking for a aggressive agent who they can work with will call me tomorrow (im stoked!!)

my Mother hen Jen who we have maid Mission control commander ,she went in my listing and i called 3 clients who have 36 lots and home which will and have expired i got them all back and besides i got the owners to put them in a price which they will sale

i found i was and still getting 150ish calls a day on my cell phone now i transfered my call to jen who fields junk calls i save 3-4 hours a day time management is what were doing

i have two interviews for new agents and a team im on trac !!!!!

tomorrow its 3 hour of mls expired and 2 hours fsbo,s with calling till i get a agent , then will go through my old leads and re call

its not easy but it will be worth it

What do you do when a newby agent comes for a job and he's rude !!!!!

WAYNE FURLONG (EXIT REALTY FOUNDATIONS) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:46:33 -0700

On a interview with a prospective Real Estate agent , i started my banter and low and behold he said wait a minute i have 4 pages of questions !!!! , What does a Broker do stop him let him go or what !!!

Well i stopped and let him continue and when i answered he would stop me and say i know that now what is this !!!!!! ,,,

i stopped and looked at him and said : Having the questions on paper is good, it shows your really thinking about the future and what a fit you will be in any companies ,i said please interview with other Real Estate office so you really know whats out there ,

i told him your Degrees and previous work history in Engineering , as they are impressive , mean in my view nothing , as i have found in my short real estate career that:

1...the agents with a IQ of warm water and failed there Real Estate Exam more then 5 , with no selling experience are more Valuable and faster up and running.

2...Younger then 25 years old , they have no bad habits yet , can be told what to do without 2nd Guessing

3...They don't have a reason for a jealous strike as most Young FNG's (FORTUNE NEW GUY) SEE WHAT THE BIG BOYS AND GIRLS EARN AND THEY COME TO REALIZE HARD WORK AND TIME IN MAKES A WINNER

what would you do help!!!!!

HURRICANE IS COMING AND NEWS MEDIA PUTS IT SMACK DAB PORT CHARLOTTE

WAYNE FURLONG (EXIT REALTY FOUNDATIONS) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:43:42 -0700

HURRICANE IS COMING AND NEWS MEDIA PUTS IT SMACK DAB PORT CHARLOTTE (edit/delete)

We is bedded in red necks, its amazing how many homes are are boarded up and people rushing to Home Depot and Lowe's,,,i bet because the next Quarter earnings will be posted early next week that the cat 1 hurricane which the tv shows east coast (and how many times they got that wrong )run up the coast and land fall between Marco island and Tampa (which is a 180 mile length of coast ,,,could end up in Huston Texas OR POINTS NORTH ITS A GUESSTAMATE

ITS COMING TUES NITE I WONT NEED TO GO GET SUPPLIES T (HOLD IT MY WIFE ADEL WANTS ME TO GO GET SUPPLIES NOW BEFORE IT ALL GOES !!

Honey i will get it Tues morn i tell her to no avail (so I'm off to Home Depot)

I'm back $375 lighter in cash i swear its a conspiracy of the highest order, Hurricane fever is to supplies warehouses like Xmas is to walmart they make money all year round but in the weather window ,they make Bank on near disasters

the news media seem to be outdoing there self's who's got the most and baddest Doppler raiders ,,,,,i really think the super stores have better technology

I live on a Alligator infested lake (i know they are there as you don't see or hear any cats or dogs and little kids ,,all lake side land traffic is gone ,,,we will send my 22 year old son to get buckets of water from lake to flush toilets (cant remember if he saw "killer crocks of the Nile delta) ,,,its either him or Adel shes cheaper to run.......

i have a 5500 watt generator which i have a choice of a?c or fridge not both ,,,,,Florida is miserable at 98' and 98 % humidity so A/c in coolers are in

i have 20 gallons of bottled water i am set and 9 boxes of batteries

i settle in and Forgot as i am been yelled at now by HER INDOORS how much gas is there

i got 5 gallons which is a/c for 3 hours last Hurricane gas was $1.25 now $4.00 (i think gas companies are in the Home Depot and Lowe's and walmart Conspiracy ,,,,,,,,,

maYBEE THIS IS A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME WE WILL STILL BE SELLING HOMES AND LIFESTYLES OF WARM BEACH LIFE.........AT LEAST WITH A HURRICANE YOU GET A WARNING ,,,,,I LIVED IN CALIFORNIA EARTH QUAKE NO WARNING.........................

"Calm before the Storm" How to prepare for Angry Sister Fay! differently

WAYNE FURLONG (EXIT REALTY FOUNDATIONS) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:40:18 -0700

Its coming we just don't know where ,,i prepare the day before but do these thing a little different

1....I live on a canal so with the Alligators permission i have water to flush the toilets just need buckets

2...I have a 30 foot boat has 300 gallons stored in it (i have made money as its $2.45 gallon gas )

3...Propane bar-b-cue grill so no need for electric cooking

4...small box rechargeable batteries 3 sets for each flashlight when generator is running i plug in charger

5...walkies talkie sets x 2 as most phones off as in Charley

6...cars always full of gas and a "get out of town kit"clothes passport maps water etc

7...cans of food and water jugs

8...always remember your neighbors just check on them some don't get ready

9...have your rechargeable drills ready

10...check the vacant lot for flying stuff and dump it

just some of the things ive learned the hard way

Good Luck !!!!!

HURRICANE IS COMING AND NEWS MEDIA PUTS IT SMACK DAB PORT CHARLOTTE

WAYNE FURLONG (EXIT REALTY FOUNDATIONS) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:11:45 -0700

ITS COMING TUES NITE I WONT NEED TO GO GET SUPPLIES T (HOLD IT MY WIFE ADEL WANTS ME TO GO GET SUPPLIES NOW BEFORE IT ALL GOES !!

Honey i will get it Tues morn i tell her to no avail (so I'm off to Home Depot)

the news media seem to be outdoing there self's who's got the most and baddest Doppler raiders ,,,,,i really think the super stores have better technology

i have a 5500 watt generator which i have a choice of a?c or fridge not both ,,,,,Florida is miserable at 98' and 98 % humidity so A/c in coolers are in

i have 20 gallons of bottled water i am set and 9 boxes of batteries

i settle in and Forgot as i am been yelled at now by HER INDOORS how much gas is there

i got 5 gallons which is a/c for 3 hours last Hurricane gas was $1.25 now $4.00 (i think gas companies are in the Home Depot and Lowe's and walmart Conspiracy ,,,,,,,,,

BPO'S worth the trouble ?

WAYNE FURLONG (EXIT REALTY FOUNDATIONS) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:46:33 -0700

BPO'S worth the trouble ?

2 monthsago we sent our offices credentials to about 90 BPO'S AND REO'S ,we got the list from REO' RENEGADES (email me i will send link) within a week after filling out the applications we started to get emailed Passwords and user names from about 12 different companies,out of the 12 we got orders right off the bat from two, some of my observations are:

1...when a order comes in they emal you what they want,,,example street sign,street sceen,adress on home ,front frontsidex2, 3 comps with pictures,3 reo's comps, need 48 hours $50:00

thats a typical BPO order you say to your self if i get 3 or 4 a day thats $200 per day ,well the realty is most bpo's companies wont list with you they are already set up with a agent who handles the listing!!!

our first BPO we got two from the same companie, one was 22 miles away and the other was 43 miles away i filled the car with 4 agents to show whats up with these and how to do...

we reset the oddmotner on the car and set off to get it done ,went to the first town home was a wreck , the unit next door was abanaded street scean was low level low rent area we wrote our visual observations down ( best thing we did also the mantra "NO SUCH THING AS TOO MANY PICTURES" was to put in words what we see ..example every drive way old deep oil stains,see a home for rent take pictures and call how much rent $600 the area is very shabby ,,,,i always take a peek inside and give an account of what i see food and cockaroches running all over walls, need painting ,some punch holes in walls,etc

we did both homes and went back to office:

96 miles round trip at $4.04/ gallon ,car does 15 miles to gallon =6 gallons =$24.00 gas

time on the road start to finish............................2,5 hours at $20/hour===$40.00

going through the emailled paper work about 3 pages per BPO and putting in your info ,pulling comps off the mls on one monitor about 2 hours per BPO.......................$20.00x2x4=$80.00

(we have learned since that BPO,s must be done on 2 linked monitors ,,,,go to Circuit City get monitor Grafix card $35.00-75.00 this will alow you to open your mls on one screen ,,and BPO on other now you copy and paste cuts the time to about 40 mins per BPO)

now on the above 2 BPO we was learning but it cost about $144.00 then i found out we would get paid up to 90 days out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3 days later we got a email one of the comps had to be replaced and as there was no pictures we had to take new ones more cost !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

now with some 15 under my belt and a gopher picture taker it takes about 40 minutes to put all info in computer ,and gas time etc........is it worth it ? you make up your own mind !

this reminds me of a famous freddy flintstone cartoon where fred has a brain wave making pies which he sells for a dollar and it cost him $1:25 EACH HOW TO GO OUT OF BUSINESS QUICK

eMAIL ME I WILL SEND LINK TO reo renagates WHERE MANY MANY TIPS AND WAYS TO MANAGE REO'S AND BPO'S

BPO'S worth the trouble ?

WAYNE FURLONG (EXIT REALTY FOUNDATIONS) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:43:57 -0700