TAGGED! by Angelia Garcia If you haven't checked out Angelia's blog, you should. She's warm, sincere and humorous.
Here are the guidelines: (As if you don't know by now) 1. Grab the nearest book.2. Open the book to page 56.3. Find the fifth sentence.4. Post the text of the next two to five sentences.5. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book or the intellectual one. Pick the Closest.6. Tag five people to do the same [The one book that this cannot be is the Bible]
At the time I (7 comments)
selling: Happy Thanksgivings
- 11/27/08 05:47 AM
H A P P Y T H A N K S G I V I N G S ! This year has been far from Ordinary for me. Among the Many, many instances that seem to want to "break" my spirits, there were just as many that caused Great Joy. My New Year's Resolution is to drink more from the Glass of Great Joy and be in a state of Thanksgiving throughout the Year. If your Glass is always Half Full, the Impossible starts to happen more often.
Buyers or Sellers, if you or (7 comments)
selling: Negotiator or Irritator
- 10/14/08 02:58 PM
Ever received an Offer or Counteroffer that Ticked you off? Well..... CUT THAT OUT! A Skilled Negotiator never takes it personal. One of the Greatest Services provided to a Client is the Art of Negotiations. Being Combative is Rarely Effective. It also runs the risk of having the Seller or Buyer becoming less likely to budge on price and/or terms. Some Agents believe in order to be a Good Negotiator, they need to be Standoffish, Argumentative or Confrontational. Not True. If you Wouldn't respond Favorably to it, why Would Anyone Else? The main Focus is to protect the Client's Interests. It's not in their Best Interests when your Personal feelings Dictate your Actions. Stalling tactics, avoidance, and being (32 comments)
selling: Why Live in Richardson?
- 10/01/08 02:48 PM
Richardson was ranked as the 18th best place to live in the United States by Money magazine. This ranked Richardson the 4th best place to live in Texas behind Round Rock, McKinney and Carrollton. Despite declining economies in other parts of the United States, Richardson has had Substantial Increases in its Economy in the past 3 years. - Highest concentration of high tech workers- University of Texas at Dallas - leading the nation in computer science degrees - DeVry University & ITT Technical Institute - Major Employers include: Nortel, Countrywide Financial, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Verizon, AT&T Inc., Hewlett-Packard, (13 comments)
selling: Friends and Family Coping with Hurricane Ike
- 09/24/08 06:28 AM
Today I Received a long awaited call from the last Family Member refusing to leave the Houston area during Hurricane Ike's devastating presence. Surprisingly, like the rest of my Terribly Unwise Friends and Family choosing to stay, they were perfectly fine. Only mild Discomfort from the Electricity being out a few days and not trusting running water. Even then, they were given access to their fully powered office building. The People I spoke to that refused to leave all said the same thing, "I didn't know it was going to be this bad." Talk about Adults needing a Spanking or Time-Out or Something. I guess I can say what (9 comments)
selling: Is it Inappropriate for an Agent to Request a GFE?
- 09/16/08 12:29 PM
Recently I've been searching for a Mortgage Broker and haven't found the Open-Arms reception I thought I should have. Each time I call, it's for a specific home with an interested Homebuyer. After providing all the details regarding the home and the FICO scores of my Buyer, I then request a GFE (Good Faith Estimate.) Then the shuffle begins. I've heard everything from, "I'll get back to you" to "Well, how much are you making in the deal" and everything resembling disgust in between. What I'm not hearing is the reason why an Agent requesting a GFE is Inappropriate or Taboo. My usual (72 comments)
selling: Blogging! Ready, Set, And What's Next......
- 08/15/08 05:55 PM
GO! No Wait. Writer's block. From an All Day long Chatty Cathy to.... Umm, Well, Errr. Eagerly awaiting the "fuel" to shoot off like a rocket, but finding it to be a slow, more time consuming ordeal. How can this be? At the end of a Typical Day, 5 blogs minimum, should flow effortlessly; And yet Nothing. Maybe revising the allotted blogging time from late night to first thing in the morning will help. That could work if the more creative juices would flow in the morning and a typical day wouldn't start before 6am. Lunch time? What lunch?! Lack of Inspiration? Absolutely not! The benefits of Blogging can be (38 comments)
selling: Sell Your Home, Keep Your Memories
- 08/07/08 08:07 AM
Time To Move Now that you're Selling your Home, don't forget about Your attic. It's hard to believe how many Families forget or elect to leave their Personal items in the Attic. Attics are generally HOT and cramped, making the desire to Organize and Clear it out an unwelcomed and gruelling event; And if you do manage to Clear it out, where else could You put its contents. So usually year after year, Attics grow into bigger forgotten piles of Memory. Whatever happened to those Old Precious Love Letters you haven't been able to find? Check the Attic. Remember those Heirlooms, Collectibles such as Stamps, Magazines, (29 comments)
selling: The Sweet Scent of a Sale
- 07/28/08 01:51 PM
We've all walked through a Home where Smoke & Pet Odors, Rancid Hampers, Musty Carpet, and even some cooking smells have extremely limited our stay. Once you get it in your head that nothing's crawling on you, You start feeling like you need a bath and become so distracted, it's hard to keep up with the conversation. You can only hold your breath so long. You just want to GET OUT OF THERE!
Buying a home is still a very Personal and Emotional experience. From the moment a Home is entered, the Selling begins. The easier it is for Buyers to imagine themselves Living (10 comments)
selling: Turning Other's Negatives into Your Positives
- 07/24/08 06:41 PM
Everyday something happens that can cause your Clients time, convenience, or money. It's in those moments that opportunity presents itself for You to become Memorable and "Referral" worthy. Recently, stamps increased from .41 cents to .42 cents. As usual, people are not too thrilled to stand in the postal lines for a book of .01 cent stamps. So I will. I send them out to all of my previous Clients and every one of them will contact me to send a brief thanks. Some will even remember that "So and So" was talking about buying or selling. Gas prices Encourages some to be (14 comments)
selling: Relocation Concerns
- 07/15/08 06:21 PM
In a couple of years after my daughter's off to college, I plan to relocate to a less congested area outside the state of Texas. Is practicing real estate in an unfamiliar area as difficult as I believe it to be? In an area where I've spent most of my life, I love assisting Clients with great insight. From the best schools, golf courses, parks, waterfront properties, night life, etc... I can match a Client's needs with little effort down to the builder or style of home they seek. The public has access to tons of information with glorified descriptions however, nothing compares to KNOWING these things intimately. (4 comments)
The immediate problem here is agent incompetence. The bigger problem is that we have a system wherein anyone that can breathe can get a license. So, incompetency reigns supreme. What other industry has 1.5 million practitioners with only approx 1 million products (homes) to sell per year???? You do the math.Comment by Tom Unfortunately, real estate agents, for the most part, have a very negative reputation. Deservedly so, because most DON’T do their job well. Especially the last 6-8 years, all you needed to be able to do was have a pulse (7 comments)
selling: An Old Classic
- 07/13/08 03:06 PM
A Realty Salesperson had just closed on their first deal, only to discover the day after closing that the piece of land he had sold was completely under water. "My client is going to come back here pretty mad," said the Salesperson to his boss. "Should I give him his money back?" "Money back?" roared the boss. "What kind of Salesperson are you? Get out there and sell him a houseboat."
Buyers or Sellers, if you or Someone you know, is Thinking of Buying or Selling a Home in Richardson or surrounding areas, give me a Call. (9 comments)
selling: No Thank You Discount Brokers
- 07/12/08 06:54 PM
I've been bombarded by email with invitations to join Discount Real Estate Brokerages. So I began calling them. I quickly found out what I suspected all along....that it wasn't for me. Their key recruiting tool is no prospecting for the agent. Their virtual office targets buyers and sellers by offering up to 2% cash rebates for using one of their agents. The buyers would search for their homes via Internet, visit the neighborhoods, and schedule an appointment to view only the properties they're interested in. This sounds strangely familiar. Oh yeah, my clients have always done this. The roles of the discount Agents are (8 comments)
selling: Newbie Just Wanting to Say Hello...so far
- 07/11/08 01:29 PM
Hello All, Tell me this forum is as great as I think it is. I've been on board for 1 day and already went through separation anxiety. I love the helpful suggestions and tips offered. So any tips for getting the most from this site will be g r e a t l y appreciated. Thanks.
Buyers or Sellers, if you or Someone you know, is Thinking of Buying or Selling a Home in Richardson or surrounding areas, give me a Call. Experienced Out-of-the-Box Thinking Realtor with Guaranteed Results. Richardson, Plano, Dallas, Garland, Rowlett, Irving, Mesquite, Dallas County, Collin County (6 comments)