valerie century 21: Short Sale the Saga!
- 02/17/11 02:19 AM
I do short sales and my fellow agents think I am crazy. I have to tell you there are times I start questioning my own sanity. I do not judge my customer. I hear other agents talking about oh they can't make their payment but did you see that television or furniture or whatever the item they are talking about. I know that some times bad things happen to good people. You don't know their situation medical, job related or just really things have gone bad. Do I have stories oh I absolutely am shocked when I hear someone talk about how … (2 comments)
valerie century 21: Superbowl Sunday
- 02/06/11 12:54 AM
Well it is superbowl sunday. I am not a huge football fan I used to be but have found that weekends are the best time to show property. Before I became an agent I never missed a football game on Sunday flipping from one channel to the next to catch parts of the other games.
I used to be able to tell you which players played what and what their stats were. Superbowl was a party for me and I looked forward to it every year. Now I have a superbowl of my own the challenge I give myself … (2 comments)
valerie century 21: How Do You Keep Up with it All?
- 02/05/11 04:22 PM
I love blogging on activerain but when it comes to my facebook, twitter and linked in it can all become so overwhelming. So I ran across this great thing called hootsuite. It is a one stop shop (and free) for managing all of these. The great part of hootsuite is on twitter you can make a column for search words like "buying a home" "moving to (whatever state). I usually type in moving to Indiana search and then when their posts come up I tweet back where in Indiana? If it is in Northwest Indiana let me know if I can … (11 comments)
valerie century 21: So What Makes You Different?
- 02/02/11 06:32 AM
We all sell real estate or at least most of us do right? Most of us are REALTORS and most of us belong to a local organization and MLS. So what is it that you provide different from the agent next door? I myself keep up to date on all the latest tehnology and use it to put my clients listings on every available internet site, I also have email and text on my cell phone to respond to any inquiries and I never turn my phone off. If a client says they want a newspaper, magazine campaign I tell them that … (0 comments)
valerie century 21: Day 31 Oh What Fun!!!
- 01/31/11 02:00 PM
I have really enjoyed this 31 day challenge although I may have caused another problem for myself. Yes I am addicted. I am checking the blog posts almost as much my facebook. This can not be good as my husband already questions how I can be on the computer so long. I have enjoyed some of the controversial posts such as the ones that ask about handing out your cell phone number and other such as one about how wonderful a customer can or can't be. It is amazing how much you can associate your experience with everyone else out there. So … (3 comments)
valerie century 21: REAL ESTATE BRANDS? Do You Think They Matter?
- 01/31/11 01:40 PM
I have been thinking a lot about this lately as I have been reading about the different companies and their financial problems. Locally we have seen a lot of different companies closing branches and I wondered do brands matter?
I got into this discussion recently with a few other agents and of course if you talk to an agent working for a no name brand office they have the best situation and if you speak with a name brand agent they sell their houses because of the name brand. So I am curious with the internet being where most … (3 comments)
valerie century 21: Thursday Looking for Friday
- 01/27/11 03:22 PM
Ok weekends are just another work day because as we all know during these times we are a 24 hour a day profession. I mean think about it in Indiana car dealerships are closed, liquor stores are closed but real estate goes on 7 days a week. I guess I am fortunate that I am busy and my last phone call I received last night was at 9:30. I am also fortunate that I am a 4 hour sleeper I go to sleep about 1 or 2 and get up between 5 or 6. I can't imagine how I would … (2 comments)
valerie century 21: Hump Day!
- 01/26/11 01:52 PM
Well it is Wednesday and it has been a crazy week. I am already exhausted and haven't even hit the weekend yet. I have been showing, writing offers, counter offers, scheduling appraisals, and inspections. I really love this business but this week is catching up to me as I have been going from 8 am and getting home at 9pm since last Friday. Tomorrow will be no different as I have to run to the next county tomorrow night and pick up an earnest money check.
I was concerned in December when it was a little slower and things … (2 comments)
valerie century 21: Funny Real Estate!
- 01/25/11 02:53 PM
So I had quite the busy weekend topped off by a busy Monday because of course when you have a busy weekend you always spend the next two days catching up. I have a rental so I get a lot of phone calls on that rental and I am always amused by some of the comments because as I have said before I always ask why they are renting instead of buying. I had been working a double shift on the floor yesterday and it was quite a busy floor. Several typical phone calls asking about this house or that house. Then there … (6 comments)
valerie century 21: January Has Been a Great Month so Far!
- 01/24/11 01:20 PM
Busy! Busy! Busy! This month has been incredibly busy and I can tell you now last January was not like this. I usually carry between 10-15 listings and I am going to have to go out and reload. Thats right I am getting offers and showings left and right. So what do I attribute to this wonderful windfall of customers the mortgage rates have been moving a little and I think that is making some people nervous. I also have some rentals and when people call I always ask why are you thinking about renting? If they say there credit … (2 comments)
valerie century 21: OK So Another Disappointing Sunday?
- 01/23/11 10:34 AM
I wasn't going to do it I was going to watch anything but the game some how the remote flipped it on and there sat yelling at the television and wishing I wasn't watching the slow death of the Chicago Bears. I want you to know I am one of the few people that still have the superbowl shuffle on 45. I know I live in Indiana and we have the Indianapolis Colts but the area of Indiana that I am in is Bear country. Well we are off to the next season and we are White Sox fans at … (3 comments)
valerie century 21: E & O Insurance
- 01/23/11 07:22 AM
So the other day I was having a conversation with another agent and he was saying that he just found out that his E & O insurance does not cover him on short sales, cash for key etc... I have my E & O through the company that I work for so I got to thinking I wonder if our coverage works on those kinds of transactions. Then I started thinking about the deductible you know all the things you don't think about until you need it. I do a lot of short sale and distressed properties so I … (4 comments)
valerie century 21: Pending??? Or Not???
- 01/22/11 07:08 AM
Today I had a buyer i have been working with call me they found a house on one of the websites and absolutely love it and want to see it. I looked it up on the MLS and it said pending I called the customer and let them know that the status is pending and I will send them some more homes. As I sat there scanning through the MLS and looking at what I have notice attracts them I ran across that same house and picked up the cell and called the agent. I said I know that … (4 comments)
valerie century 21: Lake Station Hometown Hero Wounded in Action Soldier
- 01/22/11 02:26 AM
John Masson was wounded October 16. 2010 he sacrificed 3 of his extremities for our freedom. He has a wife and three children. He proudly served for 11 years in the armed forces. John was employed with Precoat metals in Portage before joining the national guard. Both he and his wife graduated from Edison High School in Lake Station. Please visit his webpage and read more about this hometown hero http://www.johnmasson.com/ the loacl American Legion in Lake Station is doing a benefit for this man and his family he will have quite a struggle ahead of him however John said … (1 comments)
valerie century 21: Didn't Get Much Accomplished Today....
- 01/21/11 01:17 PM
Well I was in the office all day and I didn't get much accomplished but sometimes that is ok. It started out quiet and just went from there. I was happily typing away on the computer when it suddenly got loud around the office. Well, that is kind of weird as I peeked around the corner. Normally finding an agent in the office on a Friday is an oddity. So as I peek around the corner of my office I see two agents walking down the hall laughing and I could hear more out front. It seemed like the entire office … (3 comments)
I do short sales and my fellow agents think I am crazy. I have to tell you there are times I start questioning my own sanity. 
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