lessons learned: Stranger Danger - Real Estate Referrals are Strangers too - 09/28/14 03:03 AM
Stranger Danger - Real Estate Referrals are strangers too
As real estate agents we put our lives at risk everyday.  Many times we don't even realize we are putting ourselves at risk or our life in danger but with REALTOR®  Safety Awareness month coming to an end and the tragic story of Beverly Carter, it's a brutal reminder that we have to be more careful and aware of our safety and the risks we take to sell a home.  
Some of the news feeds and Facebook posts I read regarding Beverly Carter said she was meeting with a referral which made me think … (6 comments)

lessons learned: Ouch!! I Burned Myself with Feedburner ~ A Lesson on How to Change Your Email Address on Feedburner - 02/19/12 11:01 AM
Ouch!!  I Burned Myself with Feedburner and so you don't do the same, I've written a lesson on how to change your email address on Feedburner.
About a 1 1/2 years ago I left my old broker and I chose Lattimer Realty.  Back at that time I used an email address supplied by my broker.  YES, I know and I learned the lesson the hard way and had to update my email address everywhere and anywhere when I switched brokers which I DID (or so I thought).  
It wasn't until today when I was testing out the newly installed subscriber feed for Gina Chirico … (4 comments)

lessons learned: Change is constant, the future is fiction - 06/21/11 01:53 AM
 Our lives are a true composition of every choice we have ever made.
Every decision we made has brought us to where we are today.  Each choice creates our life and we have the power to make our own choices and create or re-create our own lives.
"You are the sum total of all of your choices up to now." ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer
Change is constant, the future is fiction, what story do you want to write? ~ William McDonough

We all have to make choices in life, where to eat, where to buy, how fast to drive. With … (4 comments)

lessons learned: As Agents, You Have TWO Choices and What You NEED Does NOT Matter! - 11/06/10 04:55 PM
Yesterday I wrote a post You Have TWO Choices and What You NEED Does NOT Matter!  Not to repeat the post but it was about sellers having two choices:
Price it right NOW and SELL for market value; or Price it high and sell for UNDER market value LATER. I ended the post addressing real estate agents too.  Mainly pointing out that now you, the agent have two choices to make as well.  You can either be an agent who will take the overpriced listingand never sell it or perhaps eventually sell it for UNDERmarket value later or you can be the agent who looks … (3 comments)

lessons learned: You have TWO Choices and What You NEED Does NOT Matter! - 11/05/10 04:41 PM
There have been posts, featured posts and more featured posts written about why pricing a home right is so important.  I'm not going to beat that dead horse again (no animals were harmed in the writing of this post) but rather I'm going to say it in as simple of form as possible:
Mr. and Mrs. Seller:
You have two choices.  You can either:
Price it right NOW and SELL for market value; or Price it high and sell for UNDER market value LATER. If and ONLY IF you want to SELL your home, it has to be priced right otherwise there's … (15 comments)

lessons learned: One bad personal experience 11 years ago has taught me to PAY IT FORWARD - 10/14/10 03:08 AM
Eleven years ago we bought our first home.  At that time I was pregnant with our oldest son and suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum.  Go ahead say it!  Hyperemesis Gravidarum??? What's that?  In short, Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) is a debilitating and potentially life-threatening pregnancy disease marked by rapid weight loss, malnutrition, and dehydration due to unrelenting nausea and/or vomiting with potential adverse consequences for the newborn(s).  Luckily I am a 3x survivor of HG.  Unfortunately, some haven't been as lucky as I am.  They have either lost their unborn child either through miscarriage or abortion or they, themselves lost their lives battling … (3 comments)

lessons learned: No paycheck? If you WORK, you get PAID -- that's just how it goes........... - 09/27/10 04:02 AM
On Thursday I wrote a post,  No Commission Check?  What were you doing 90 days ago?   I once again give credit to the original post of Kristen Wheatley's An Appointment a Day Keeps the Bill Collectors Away which triggered me to write that post. (BTW - thank you for the feature)!
Reading through many of the comments on my post, many agents do feel the same way and practice what they preach, starting with the very first  comment of Debi Braulik who referenced the quote "Everyday you're unemployed unless you write a contract."   So many other great comments too including Bryant Tutas who commented that the one thing in … (4 comments)

lessons learned: Do you know where your drafts are? - 09/25/10 05:01 PM
I don't know about you but there are many times I start to write a blog post and save it as draft to come back to it another day.  Then I come up with a few other topics, post them publicly and then I lose track of the drafts. I found any easy way to keep track of my drafts so that when I want to come back to the them, I don't have to scroll down through sometimes a dozen other posts I've written since my draft posts. 
First, I type the word "draft" in the tags and then I save the … (9 comments)

lessons learned: Beware ~ My Email Account was hacked!! - 09/19/10 02:55 PM
Just yesterday I wrote about Realtor Safety and today my email account was hacked -- not my real estate business email but my personal AOL email account.  I was sitting at my open house today and my blackberry went off with the usual email notification sound, and then it went off again, again, again and again.  When I read the first message from "Mail Delivery Subsystem" that my email was undeliverable I thought ok no biggie I sent an email this morning and it didn't go through but after the 20th one, I knew my email account was hacked!!!! 
I have no idea of how many emails were sent from my … (7 comments)

lessons learned: Why Oh Why Do They Continue to Discuss Commission?? - 09/17/10 05:04 AM
It's like beating a dead horse!!  I don't understand why agents continue to discuss commission on public forums like Trulia.  Which part do they NOT understand of the Antitrust Laws?  Is it the part that they should disassociate themselves immediately from the slightest discussion of commission rates or do they not realize who and who is not a member of a competing firm?  Openly discussing it on Trulia I would say violates the Sherman Antitrust Act and if it somehow doesn't, it's a fine line that I certainly do not want to cross!
Honestly, potential sellers who are not familiar with the … (4 comments)

lessons learned: Giving Back to the Community Where You SELL & Where You LIVE - Is that Part of your Business Plan? - 07/10/10 04:47 PM
I was sitting here thinking about what other agents give back to their community, if anything at all.  I think giving back to the community you where you sell or live is important.  I know some agents, brokers and other in-town companies make monetary donations to different community events and/or fundraisers.  For instance, my broker, gives back to the Community of Fairfield by sponsoring rides at the carnival and/or sponorsing sports teams.  Giving back to the community where you sell and where you live should be an automatic part of your business plan.
I can tell you what I've given back to the Fairfield … (4 comments)

lessons learned: The Call that is Every Mother's Worst Nightmare ~ There's Been an Accident...and it wasn't even 4th of July - 07/02/10 02:24 PM
I recently wrote a post about fireworks in The Communities of West Essexand at the end of the post I touched upon firework safety and a family accident that occured with fireworks.  Then I read the post by Shannon Harvey which pointed out things we should know about fireworks.  I commented on his post and decided to share this personal experience.
It'll be two years ago this August, I was out showing houses to buyer who never bought and my five year old (3 at the time) was at my in-laws.  I was just picking up my older son from a friend's house when … (1 comments)

lessons learned: NAR's RESPONSE to I am your local REALTOR®, however I am not allowed to say it, write it or admit it. - 06/21/10 03:42 PM
The other day I wrote a Featured Activerain post I am your local REALTOR®, however I am not allowed to say it, write it or admit it.  The post references "The REALTOR® Brand" snippet included in the National Association 2010-2011 Membership Reference Guide from the National Association of REALTORS®.  Not to reiterate what my post said, the main idea was how the REALTOR® brand must be used properly, listing some important rules. 
Most importantly I was referring to:
REALTOR® may not be modified by descriptive words or phrases such as "your", "local" or "Chicago". (ex. Your REALTOR® of Choice for Whitestone Gardens)  
After reading through … (8 comments)

lessons learned: Featured - Paying the Real Price for Being Featured on Activerain - 06/20/10 04:08 PM
I am proud to announce that I have 3 Featured Posts on Activerain.  I know its not even close to many other members who have had numerous posts Featured on Activerain but its an accomplishment for me and I am proud of it.  The main reason why it makes me happy when I am Featured on Activerain is because it doesn't have a price tag attached.  Paying the real price for being Featured on Activerain is priceless. 
 
Sure, I can be a Fairfield New Jersey Featured Agent in the spotlight on Trulia.  That price tag is $50 a month for 100% market share.

(9 comments)

lessons learned: I am your local REALTOR®, however I am not allowed to say it, write it or admit it. - 06/19/10 03:45 AM
Although I believe I am your local REALTOR® in Fairfield New Jersey, I am not allowed to say it, write it or admit it but you can brand it in a different way.
Just yesterday I received my 2010-2011 Membership Reference Guide from the National Association of REALTORS®.  As we know REALTORS®are bound by many things, one of the most important is NAR's Code of Ethics.  With that being said, I started flipping through the pamphlet and I came across the "The REALTOR® Brand" which talks about the REALTOR® brand being a powerful marketing tool, valued at over $3 billion.
It goes on to mention how the … (42 comments)

lessons learned: Changing Brokers ~ Lessons Learned the Hard Way - 05/21/10 03:54 PM
You know when something just happens.....you weren't looking for it; you weren't expecting it; and bang it just happens....
That's what happened to me last week.  I wasn't thinking about changing brokers but it just happened and needless to say during my transfer from Prudential New Jersey Properties to Fairfield, New Jersey's Lattimer Realty, I've learned some lessons the hard way.
I've read numerous posts and comments here on AR listing the benefits of maintaining your own website (not a company based one).  The reasons why you should have your own email address and not a company assigned one.  As I read them … (11 comments)

lessons learned: Before I was a Realtor®..... - 04/20/10 05:39 AM
I don't know about you but I often get the question:  "What were you before you were a Realtor®?"
I know for some agents, real estate has always been their business.  Others, like myself, may have not always been in real estate but ended up here, all for many different reasons. 
Before I was a Realtor®
I was a nail technician
I only worked three days a week
Pay was based solely on commission and I even received tips
Before I was a Realtor®
I worked for one of New Jersey's leading law firm's senior partner
I worked 9-5 Monday-Friday with a one … (102 comments)

lessons learned: Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes ~ A valuable lesson learned - 02/26/10 05:10 AM
After reading an ActiveRain featured post written by Joe Pryor.com, I was inspired to write this post.  Although Joe's post was regarding BPO's, he ended his post with the following inspiring phrase he used as his Facebook status:
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way if they get angry they will be a mile away and you have their shoes.
In the fall of 2009 my parents' neighbor of 35 years listed her Belleville New Jersey house for sale.  Now this wasn't just any neighbor.  For so many years of my childhood we were very, very close. They moved in when I … (47 comments)

 
Gina Chirico, Real Estate Agent - Essex County, New Jersey (Lattimer Realty)

Gina Chirico

Real Estate Agent - Essex County, New Jersey

Fairfield, NJ

More about me…

Lattimer Realty

Address: Walgreens Shopping Center, 397 Route 46 West, Fairfield, NJ, 07004

Office: 9735756353 x17

Mobile: (973) 715-1158



Listings

Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog