Gary Woltal's Blog

Wordless Wednesday - Dressed More Beautifully Than Solomon

2010-02-09T22:01:08Z

How Social Networking Is Like A Game of Checkers

2010-02-07T10:50:32Z

OK, I am probably going to date myself with this one but I want to tell you

How Social Networking Is Like A Game of Checkers.

We all can't have always played Madden football or Wii. Some grew up on Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, Sorry, and yes Checkers.

With Checkers as your board piece gets close to another if there is a space on the other side you can "jump" the piece and take the board piece, weakening your opponent. It is so akin to how social networking works with the friend in front of you. You want to jump and get to the friend of the friend.

Whether Active Rain, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or whatever social networking you get involved in you are talking to your immediate friend or seeing who they are talking to or linking to, in order to get to the "unknown" friends, the jumps across the network that you don't know now.

So is this a far fetched example of what is old is new again? Well it popped out of my brain today so I suppose it is so. BTW, try Checkers. It's easy on the battery life.

Why You Need To Be A Teddy Bear In Real Estate

2010-02-05T23:02:15Z

Do you know what the fundamental reason children crave stuffed animals by their bedside, while young, or maybe not so young at age twelve yielding them up? It is not to be cutesy, fun, enjoy the color and the various shapes and forms.

It is all about LOVE. A very basic need and more specifically

TO BE NEEDED NOW.

We in real estate need to be the Teddy Bear for our client. Lord knows there's enough stress along the way. When they are feeling the pressure not only is the Realtor or real estate professional like the aspirin for the headache, we need them now, why?

To make everything feel right.

Don't underestimate the emotional side of a transaction in real estate. If anything the mechanics of the deal are probably OVER HALF emotional and not the contracts and terms and conditions.

Be a Teddy Bear in Real Estate.

Kind of gives you the warm fuzzies already doesn't it???

Need You Now

Going Green? Know Your LEED Point Ratings For Homes

2010-02-04T18:02:44Z

Going Green? Are you thinking of building or buying one of the more trendy if not the way the world is going, GREEN homes? You know energy efficient, environmentally friendly? Well you need to know about LEED which is the certification they come with. LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design has emerged as the most important force in the accelerating market for green buildings by federal agencies. Under the LEED 2.0 point system for homes there are four levels of certification with 45-130 points. For commercial buildings by the way there are four levels from 26-69 points. The resource categories that are measured are

Innovation and design
Location
Sustainable sites
Water efficiency
Energy and atmosphere
Materials and resources
Indoor air quality
Awareness and education

The LEED point system for homes is

Certified: 45-59
Silver: 60-74
Gold:75-89
Platinum: 90-130

The average family spends $1,900 a year on heating and cooling and lighting and all electric and gas and oil. A family of four uses 25,550 gallons of water a year just to do laundry. We all can do our part to save on our bills and help the environment with newer homes and commercial buildings that get the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification. BTW, the new World Trade Centers will be platinum certified. From the past comes a new brighter future!! Go green, is not all about being Irish!!

Wordless Wednesday - Another Day, Another Chance To Get It Right

2010-02-03T23:30:52Z

You Can't Spring If You Cling

2010-02-03T16:55:42Z

I heard this quotation from a relationship coach:

You Can't Spring If You Cling.

It applies to relationships, moving forward with your ideas and thinking, just adapting better to change. Taking some of the good of our past experiences with us on the road ahead is helpful. But there is a lot of baggage we need to leave behind. Particularly worn out ideas, or ideas whose time has come to shelve. Oftentimes I think we need a clean sheet of paper for each day along with our library of expererience in our closet to write down what we would like to try new today.

Springing only happens when we do stop clinging. Only us or a great deal of pain in our lives imposed on us can get us off that leaf, branch or fence. Remind those that are on a fence (like sometimes buyers or sellers) that nothing happens till they make a decision. Time's a wastin'. Learn to spring, not cling.

We were all built to live in the present but head toward the future and not get bogged down by the past.

Do You Care What Your Blogger Buddies Think Of You?

2010-02-01T23:31:16Z

Do You Care What Your Blogger Buddies Think Of You?

A good question to ask especially on Active Rain where many who read your blog posts are peers in your industry. Granted many external consumers read Active Rain as well. But what image do you put forth? What about religious or political views? Moral stands, lack of morals, too much information in other parts of your life. For the most part when bloggers have met in person they feel like they have known each other even prior to meeting.

There are other instances where the "real live" person is far worse than what they write about themselves.

What about our self-esteem? Are we just comfortable in our skin and know we can't please all the people all the time even if they are our buddies? I think high self-esteem has two parts. We do care about the opinions of those whe are important to us. We also should be strong enough to just be ourselves. That's the part of ourselves we know, and can play best.

Be YOU and let the chips fall where they may!!

Speechless Sunday - Quiet Walk

2010-01-31T22:02:30Z

Look Inside For Change But You Still May Be An Onion Lady

2010-01-31T14:28:55Z

Many real estate agents will get frustrated with the actions of their associates or their clients. Shoot, even here on Active Rain Members poke at other Members. What to think of all this in the world? Well, when people are mean or inconsiderate it usually means they are hurting inside from something in the past or just some bad habit they picked up along the way. Only they can change themselves and mildly, maybe, you can influence them. But the error in our looking external all the time at other people is THAT is NOT what we can change.

Look Inside For Change But Still You May Be An Onion Lady.

We truly can only change ourselves. Those binoculars need to be flipped around on their end and we examine our own inside. Our interior motives, weaknesses and flaws. That's where the real emphasis needs to lie. But it is tough work. We are slow, if not even unwilling to change our ways. How'd we get so stubborn? Who knows? But only we can fix ourselves.

To illustrate that sometimes we are what we are, here is the fable of the onion lady.

Once upon a time there was a peasant woman and a very wicked woman she was. And she died and did not leave a single good deed behind. The devils caught her and plunged her into the lake of fire. So her guardian angel stood and wondered what good deed of hers he could remember to tell to God; ‘She once pulled up an onion in her garden,' said he, ‘and gave it to a beggar woman.' And God answered: ‘You take that onion then, hold it out to her in the lake, and let her take hold and be pulled out. And if you can pull her out of the lake, let her come to Paradise, but if the onion breaks, then the woman must stay where she is.' The angel ran to the woman and held out the onion to her. ‘Come,' said he, ‘catch hold and I'll pull you out.' he began cautiously pulling her out. He had just pulled her right out, when the other sinners in the lake, seeing how she was being drawn out, began catching hold of her so as to be pulled out with her. But she was a very wicked woman and she began kicking them. ‘I'm to be pulled out, not you. It's my onion, not yours.' As soon as she said that, the onion broke. And the woman fell into the lake and she is burning there to this day. So the angel wept and went away. ~ Dostoevsky

So looking inside we should endeavor to love instead. What does love look like?

It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. This is what love looks like. ~ St. Augustine

Peaceful Feeling

2010-01-29T23:41:39Z

The Missing Step In Getting Things Done

2010-01-29T23:23:13Z

As we conclude January and move into February for the year we probably can all have a good laugh now about New Year's resolutions. Ha. What were they again? You know why you feel that way? You are forgetting

The Missing Step In Getting Things Done.

It has always been this step.

TAKE ACTION.

All the planning and prioritizing in the world will not get things done. You have to execute. You have to change the world. One foot in front of the other. The pile of laundry to fold on top of the dryer? Your hands need to be folding. It is called action. Don't make this harder than it needs to be.

DO SOMETHING!!!

A rolling stone gathers no moss. Do you have moss between your toes??? Let's roll!!

It Is What It Is, The Flow Technique For Better Living

2010-01-28T19:01:43Z

One aspect of life you learn very clearly being a REALTOR is NOTHING ever works out according to plan. Costs more, takes more time than you think, people wig out on you, people don't show up for appointments, associates don't do what they say, the list goes on and on. For some, this change from the expected drives them crazy. It ought not. Much of life works this way all the time. Instead learn,

It Is What It Is, The Flow Technique For Better Living.

"Embrace Reality." Let that two word sentence be your mantra for three weeks till you get it.

You can only change who? Yourself. Influence others, shape events and situations yes, but mostly the final end result with all that, is out of your control. Take you being fat for example. Take another person being fat too. Three months from now with some diet and exercise you may be slim and trim. Three months from now, who knows what the other person will be like, DESPITE your best effort to help them. That's where the flow technique comes in. With much of life FLOW with it!!!

You know, row, row, row, your boat? What Gary, you are singing me a song now? What is the next verse? Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily....

a secret to happiness is letting life flow!!

Think of how life can flow. Let it reveal itself to you in its own time. Let life unfold. You will experience dumb luck. You will be in the right place at the right time. Why is this? Who knows?

This image on this one should help out. You are blowing bubbles into the wind. Where do they go? Who knows? It doesn't really matter. You are going with life's flow. You are living better. You are happy. This is reality. And living in a world where it is what it is with indeed you trying to shape it and make it better, but at the same time accepting it is as it is, you will find so much more serenity.

Quit fighting life's flow!!! Change you. Be the best. Let the rest go.

Peeking Into The Why Or Why Not Of Getting Top Dollar For Your Home

2010-01-26T17:27:37Z

REALTORS hold those magical keys to that MLS software that just tells everything about homes on the market. But their experience also tells the minuses and the pluses why your home can't or can fetch top dollar.

MINUSES

Near power lines, cell towers, water towers
Poor curb appeal
Highly sloped yard
Wild interior paint
Bad floor plan
Heavy traffic nearby
Eyesore commercial property viewable
Excess noise
Busy highway close
Above average crime
Low ranking school district
Odors present
Clutter
Master up, in some cases
Corner, in some cases
No garage
Poor Maintenance
Overpriced

PLUSES

Near body of water
Golf course lot
Good school district
Move in ready
Clean
Well maintained
Wooded lot (in Texas)
Properly staged
Appliances included
Wood floors
Cul-de-sac lot
Staged properly
New construction
Priced at or below market

These give you an inkling in pricing your home appropriately. A good REALTOR can help you with this determination and look at you own particular situation.

Survey Says Men Have More Friends Online Than Women Do. Why?

2010-01-25T19:14:02Z

I came across some interesting statistics today that made me think.

A survey says men have more friends online than women do. Why?

From September 2009, from Performics Survey, when asking the question, "How many friends do you have online? (from social networking sites, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Youtube, etc.)

MEN

180 Friends

WOMEN

140 Friends

Now why is this? I actually was surprised because with women being the chatty type, better vocabulary and saying more words to describe something I thought they would have the higher number. Here's some of my guesses:

Men are naturally more nerdy and spend more time on the computer
Men are all about competition, and it is not quality but quantity that counts
Men are actually seeking lots of friends that are "women." The hunter mentality.
Women actually have a little more of a life than men, taking care of children, etc. thus less time on the computer. But they are not far behind
Early on professional networks that turned into social networks had more men in them initally to add to the friends list
Women would rather cultivate a closer group of "meaningful" relationships than just throw the net out there and drag in any old tin can or boot in the fishnet
Men have just been at this computer geek social network longer so naturally they have more contacts
There is no rhyme or reason as to why this is, other than the trajectory may be just like in the jobs market with women overtaking the number of mens jobs. Women may exceed mens' friends numbers eventually, this is where we just are right now.

What do you think? What is a reason or two of why men have more "friends" online today??

How Is Your Performance In The Red Zone?

2010-01-24T19:06:28Z

With the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl activity in our midst here currently there is that football parlance that can be applied to a real estate professional's work:

How Is Your Peformance In The Red Zone?

In football it is your scoring ratio, if you score, how much you score for the final 20 yards into the end zone. As a Realtor, Mortgage lender, inspector, Title Co. worker what happens?

Do you close effectively, keep the client focused, provide creative solutions, work through obstacles, have an above average "red zone" performance?

Something to measure and improve on as our business grows...as most of us make our money at the closing table and ONLY at the closing table! (the end zone)

Speechless Sunday - Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks

2010-01-24T01:06:41Z

Will Your Legacy Have An Asterisk Beside It?

2010-01-23T12:31:14Z

In driving around with Buyers and talking with Associates lately the topic of "legacy" came up. What will you leave behind after you are gone? Do you care? Do you ever think about it? Does your reputation, your contribution, your work, the "residue" of your life mean anything to you?

Will Your Legacy Have An Asterisk Beside It?

Three celebrity news stories made me think of possible asterisks.

Conan O'Brien - will he be known as a young guy with a Tonight Show gig for awhile who moved on to greener pasture or a FAILURE in staying with the show such a short period of time?
Tiger Woods - greatest golfer ever or philanderer with women outside marriage or maybe both?
Mark McGwire - St. Louis Cardinals baseball homerun super slugger or it didn't count cause he used steroids?

We all are flawed human beings and a composite of our best and our worst. But thinking before we go down a path can help us with a legacy we choose rather than by drifting into one with an asterisk beside it. Most people are so focused on "success" under the age of 35 they don't think about "significance" till the second half of life, so asking them about legacy, you usually get a deer in the headlights look back.

But if it does mean anything to you whether you call it success OR significance know what that is in as carefully a constructed life mission statement that could be validated at your funeral when others are "celebrating" your life.

Ralph Waldo Emerson had a short and sweet view of success from way back when that could fit any of us if this is what you want people to think of your life after you are long gone and turned to dust. It said,

"To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;

This is to have succeeded."

So what say you? Are you cool with the legacy you are developing and leaving behind?

New Home Builder New And Old Trends May Surprise You

2010-01-22T21:59:03Z

From the National Association of Homebuilders the latest trends... emphasis on energy efficiency and less is more...

Items most likely to be found in new homes for 2010:

1. Walk-in closet in master bedroom

2. Separate laundry room

3. Insulated front door

4. Great room

5. Low-E windows

6. Linen closet

7. Programmable thermostat

8. Energy-efficient appliances and lighting

9. Separate shower and tub in master bedroom

10. Nine-foot ceilings on first floor

The least likely items homebuyers will find in new homes this year include:

1. Outdoor kitchen

2. Outdoor fireplace

3. Sun room

4. Butler's pantry

5. Media room

6. Desk in kitchen

7. Two-story foyer

8. Eight-foot ceiling on first floor

9. Multiple shower heads in master bath

10. Smaller kitchen area than in recent years

Those age 55 and older have a slightly different "want" list in a new home:

1. Washer-dryer in the unit

2. Storage space

3. Windows that open easily

4. Garage door opener

5. Easy-to-use thermostat

6. Master bedroom on first floor

7. Private patio

8. Porch

9. Attached garage

10. Bigger bathrooms

Are You A Doctor Of Real Estate Or Only In It For The Money?

2010-01-21T19:37:14Z

Many in the medical field, particularly doctors, do have a stereotype that some are only in it for the money. Particularly specialities, for example plastic surgeons. Well at least that's what TV shows like Nip Tuck would lead you to believe.

But looking at our own ethics across all real estate professions,

Are You A Doctor Of Real Estate Or Only In It For the Money?

OK, the last few years many with that money question might even laugh at that premise. But averaged out over 20 years or so many real estate individual practitioners and teams can make a substantial income as a business venture. The "caring" about all people that come before you is the ethical question. Even if you don't specialize in sub $100,000 properties, can you refer them out? If you don't work with first time buyers do you still find a way to help them?

The way to get rich they say is to help enough people get what THEY want and it in the end like a Karma effect, helps you get what you want. The Code of Ethics is your Hippocratic oath.

You Never Can Go Wrong In Life TRULY caring about another, with blinders on as to the money that ends up in your pocket at the moment!

Wordless Wednesday - What's My House Worth? ~ I'm Ready Now

2010-01-20T19:20:15Z

Blame Your Life On This Chromosone or How To Understand Patterns

2010-01-20T17:16:49Z

You'll talk to some women and especially from what their fathers told them early on that little Samantha should have been a Sam. Or Jacqueline should have been a Jack. Talk about getting an inferiority complex right out the chute. Did you know maybe you have MEN to blame for this mixup after all?

In basic genetics the male has XY chromosones and the female has XX chromosones.Therefore the occurrence or absence of that Y chromosone determines the sex of the offspring as the two come together and form either a new XX or new XY. There you have it, something else to blame the man for again.

But the patterns of our lives work the same way. All the things we do for a period of time, then we change, and we do something else. Some people have MASSIVELY COMPARTMENTALIZED lives and you wouldn't recognize them from one period to another. Different husbands, jobs, interests, likes and dislikes. But guess what the big PATTERN in the new pattern that makes sense of it all?

It is that dang Y again

Although this time we would say you behave the way you do in the pattern and groove you are in because of your own personal

Y or WHY.

Understand the WHY of what you are doing and what you are doing will make sense.

Blame your gender on those men, those fathers of ours, but understand yourself with the WHY that is behind what you are doing with your life.

Win Win Means No Psychos Need Apply

2010-01-19T16:31:46Z

In building Win-Win client-agent relationships there needs to be a few guidelines set up front. Win-Win for business relationships SHOULD ALWAYS BE a given, or NO DEAL!!

Win Win Means No Psychos Need Apply.

I don't mean you deliberately screen potential clients with a psychiatric exam, althought some might argue with experiences they have had in the past that might not be such a bad idea. The pscyho Win Lose scenario is where "unreasonableness" comes to be a factor. Some examples

Seller demands sale price of home substantially above market value
Seller will not prepare home for sale based on reasonable recommendations
Buyer is out of area by many miles of which the agent cannot support them adequately
Listing agent is selling a specialty property they are not familiar how to do the mechanics of the sale, REO, short sale
Homeowner wants commission cut to bone not allowing agent to make a profit
Investor wants you to be his low ball presenter consistently
Landlord tenant will not cooperate with showings with occupied house
Buyer client wants to spend months of your time with you showing them houses without a buyer rep agreement protecting the agent's interest

There are SO MANY Win Lose relationships that can develop between agents, buyers, sellers, and investors, they are too numerous to mention. It is the business of the agent to select or decline up front clients to work with or terminate along the way. Nobody on any side needs a relationship to turn psycho.

Why You Need To Pay Attention To Toilet Paper

2010-01-18T20:24:38Z

Toilet paper is important in our lives. You know why. There is quilted, scented, soft, colorful, all sorts of "bathroom tissue." Quite often used for rolling houses that you may see in your neighborhood targeted for love OR harassment. But remember this quotation:

"Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes."

Do you agree? I think our busyness makes time go by faster, OR, the number of years count less year by year as you have more of them.

What say you?

Life zooming by for ya? Why do you think that is???

Speechless Sunday - Find an aim in life before you run out of ammunition

2010-01-17T10:27:42Z

Capt. Sullenberger's Wild Ride Flight Simulation ~ Miracle on the Hudson

2010-01-16T12:12:59Z

Interesting how time flies, we are a year out on the amazing landing on the Hudson River of that US Airways jet taking off from LaGuardia in New York and having the bird strike. I was passed on this flight simulation so sit back and (enjoy?) your seven minute ride from take off till landing. The thing that impressed me most is the calmness of all these pilots and ground controllers. These are the people you want in your life when a crisis hits. No ruffled feathers here. View the Full Screen link below.

Miracle On The Hudson