Keller Williams Realty Brokerages Dominate Annual Industry Surveys3rd largest company in U.S. the only major franchise to show growth "According to two of the industry's most comprehensive annual surveys, Keller Williams Realty brokerages continue to defy the pervasive downturn in the industry by growing and expanding." "RISMedia's Power Broker Report and REAL Trends'  REAL Trends 500 rank the largest residential real estate brokerages in the U.S. based on transaction sides and sales volume. This year, Keller Williams Realty had more brokerages on both lists than any other real estate brand." "In the REAL Trends 500 report, Keller Williams Realty dominated, with its offices comprising more than a quarter of the entire list. Of all the major brands represented in the report, Keller Will... 05/21/2009

  One of my pet peeves is the mispronunciation of the word Realtor.  So I am on a one man crusade two try and correct this common error.  It is very common to hear people pronounce the term Realtor as Real-A-Tor (3 syllables).......listen very close people.  According to the National Association of Realtors, "Irrespective of local dialect and custom, the term REALTOR® has but one pronunciation: REAL' tor  Just two (2) syllables" Imagine my surprise the other day when I was speaking to a broker who has been in the business for 22  years and she pronounced the word Real-a-tor. I am not even sure what caused this problem in the first place.  This mispronunciation is similar to President George H Bush's mispronunciation of the word Nuclear....he preferred to say Nuk-U-ler instead of Nu-clea... 04/24/2009

NJ Housing Mortgage Finance Agency Offers Cash Advance for First-time Buyer Costs THIS IS GREAT NEWS The NJ Housing Mortgage Finance Agency is offering a $5,000 cash advance to qualified first time home buyers.  These payments are intended to defray closing costs or take care of a portion of the down payment requirements.  The loan, offered as part of NJHMFA's "Prefund" program.  The loan will act as a cash advance against the &8,000 tax credit being offered to first time home buyers who purchase between 8 April - 31 December 2009.  "This is a powerful incentive that will allow potential first time home buyers to actually enter the market because this cash advance will help them meet down payment requirements or pay for closing costs that might otherwise be an obstacle to a first-time b... 04/16/2009

FedEx Office Free Resume Printing Day: March 10, 2009 FedEx Office (formerly FedEx Kinko's), will offer FREE, that's right FREE resume printing today.  The company realizes that the cost of printing resumes can be a significant expense.  So for one day and one day only March 10, 2009, anyone can have 25 copies of their resume printed for FREE. This offer is only valid for orders placed and picked up in-store.  Customers may place orders by submitting their resume in printed format or as a digital file, and the copies will be printed single-sided on resume-quality paper. To find the nearest FedEx Office Print and Ship Center, visit www.fedex.com or call 1-800-Go-FedEx (1-800-463-3339).  Leander McClain, Burlington Township Realtor & Real Estate Consultant, Keller Williams Realty, 1814 Ro... 03/10/2009

Do YOU Live Next To a NEGLECTED Foreclosed Home? Are Foreclosed Homes In Your Neighborhood Driving Down Property Values? What can you do about it? A Murrieta homeowner Mark McKinzie was fed up with the the flood of neglected foreclosures in Southern California.  He lived next door to a foreclosed lawn that had a black lawn  that had been that way since April 2007.  So, he launched his own watchdog web site to hold lenders accountable. Just go to www.lenderoffender.com There you can post a picture of the offending property along with information about which bank owns the property. The website then ranks the worst lender offenders, with Fannie Mae topping the list so far.   Mark says it's working.   "I am putting these lenders on the spot in hopes that they will actually take notice of th... 02/18/2009

  I WILL NOT BE WORKING TOMORROW! Tomorrow is a National Holiday (At least in my house). Tomorrow @ 3:30pm Eastern time, in Daytona, Florida a green flag will drop and the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be underway.  And yes, I will be glued to the television watching the cars go around and around.  Over the years, many people have asked me why I like auto racing.  And I say that it must be something in my male genes.  Now don't get me wrong.  There are plenty of women who are HUGE fans (In fact I work with one of the biggest Tony Stewart fans that ever lived).  But guys like the chase, the spirit of competition, burning rubber, flying dirt and gasoline fumes.   Guys will race anything.  Don't believe me??  Take a look at the lawnmower and bar stool racers to the right.   My favorit... 02/14/2009

Burlington Township, New Jersey January 2009 Home Sales & Analysis  Are homes selling in Burlington Township, NJ??  Yes.  Is there a healthy supply of homes for sale?  Absolutely Yes.  Is now a great time to buy a home?  Depends on YOUR Situation. Is now a great time to sell a house?  Depends.   The table below shows that in January 2009, Eleven (11) homes sold.  Seven (7) were single family detached and the remaining four (4) were town homes or condos.  Overall the townhouse market is stronger than the single family market.  12.5% of the Town homes available for sale sold in January.  This leaves an 8 month supply.  6% of the single family detached homes sold leaving a supply of 16.7 months. What does this all mean? A balanced market is defined as a six (6) month supply of homes for sa... 02/09/2009

Barack, Inc. Winning Business Lessons of the Obama Campaign.   I ran across this book and decided to give it a read.  I figured that it didn't matter if I was Republican or Democrat, maybe I could learn something from the Obama Campaign. Furthermore, I thought I may be able to apply it to my real estate practice in Burlington Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.  Upon opening the book, I read the following "Who among us ever fully believed that a Cinderella candidate could soar out of Illinois obscurity and become the 44th President of the United States, confounding dozens of world-renowned politicos in the process?  Yet Barack Obama managed to beat the Republican party at it's own game with discipline, organization and massive fund raising". Hmmm......If I can figure out how they d... 02/06/2009

Just Because I am Losing Doesn't Mean I'm Lost I was listening to one of my favorite rappers this morning Jay-Z.  He did a mash up album with Coldplay titled "Viva La Hova". Ok I know, I know....most people who are reading this are saying Jay who?  Cold what? And what does this have to do with real estate or the price of tea in China.....stick with me.  The first lines of the song Lost are as follows  "Just because I'm losing, Doesn't mean that I'm lost. Doesn't mean I'll stop, Doesn't mean I'll cross".  I used to tell people all the time...."In life, there are no cheerleaders".  You must remember that you can lose the battle and still win the war.  Right now many real estate agents are suffering due to the current status of the housing market.   Many more have taken down their shingle.... 02/06/2009

Everyday You Must Work On YOUR Survival   Every morning in Africa,  A gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than  the fastest lion  or it will be killed.   Every morning in Africa A lion wakes up. It knows it must out run the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.   When the sun comes up, YOU BETTER START RUNNING!   Last year, I wrote a post titled Nothing From Nothing Leaves Nothing.  The life lesson from that post is that you take out, what you put in.   Too many people are searching for a magic pill.  They want to pay $99, $199, $2,999 for a solution that will automatically give them a successful business.  Well I hate to be the one to bust your bubble (those selling the seminars will hate me for this), but There is no magic solution! You will only succeed by being like ... 02/04/2009

Time is Money   In 1748 Benjamin Franklin gave a piece of advice to a young trademan.... "Time Is Money".   Three simple words  that hold great meaning.  In todays economy, most people I know are trying to stretch a dollar. Said another, trying to make a dollar out of fifteen cents. Any time you can come up with a way to save time or money, you are way ahead of the game. During 2008, I authored a series of post to help my real estate clients in Burlington Township, Burlington County, NJ.  In order to make it simple to reference, I have listed them below. Finally, If you know anyone who is looking to buy or sell real estate, HERE or ANYWHERE, NOW or in the FUTURE, feel free to refer them to the McClain Team. We are Realtors and Real Estate Consultants. We take time to learn about our cl... 01/22/2009

  The U.S. Census Bureau Is Hiring!!!     The U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting temporary part-time census takers for the 2010 Census. The pay is good, the hours are flexible, and the work is close to home. Census taker jobs are excellent for retirees, college students, persons who want to work part-time, persons who are between jobs, or just about anyone who wants to earn extra money while performing an important service for their community. This is a way for YOU to help YOUR community  Every 10 years, a census of the population is conducted. The results help determine YOUR community's representation in government, as well as how federal funds are spent in your community on things like roads, parks, housing, schools, and public safety. Some Federal funding is distributed based on popula... 01/21/2009

My Baby Girl All photos and/or written content produced by Leander McClain. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Leander McClain, EXIT Buyers Plus Realty,  Serving Burlington Township, Burlington County, Camden County New Jersey and surrounding areas and Counties. © 2009 Leander McClain          01/14/2009

Why I DO What I DO   I have been asked countless times.....Exactly why are you a Realtor? The very simple answer is...... I LOVE WHAT I DO AND I THINK I AM THE BEST REAL ESTATE CONSULTANT THAT EVER LIVED    Now I know some people will take offense to my last statement, but that's ok.  If I didn't have confidence in myself and what I do......Why should you hire me to represent you???  There are also some other great Realtors out there.  I have created a network of like minded Realtors inside and and outside of New Jersey.  That way if you or someone you care about is looking to buy or sell real estate outside of my specialized area (Burlington Township, Burlington County, NJ), I can still help you.   Back to the story at hand......... I love what I do.  There is nothing like looking into... 01/07/2009

Question:  Are Homes Selling In Burlington County, NJ in 2009? Answer: YES!!!  I have seen a number of homes sell  in December 2008 and others that will sell early in 2009.  In some areas, activity has picked up. Especially in Burlington Township, Mount Laurel and Evesham   Question:  Is now the right time for me to buy to buy a home in Burlington County, NJ? Answer: Maybe.......Maybe Not.  I always tell my clients that there is no one universal answer that fits everyone.  Each person's situation is different.  As a Realtor & Real Estate Consultant, the last thing I want to know is how many bedrooms and bathrooms are you looking for.  I have to take time to get to know you. I need to know about your life and your lifestyle.  I need to get to know YOU, Your FAMILY, YOUR LIKES and dislike... 01/06/2009

Burlington Township, New Jersey 2008 Real Estate Market Statistics Some of my clients want to know how the real estate market is doing in Burlington Township, NJ.  I usually tell them that houses are selling, however.....numbers usually do a better job of explaining the facts.  So I will post every month a simple table of market statistics.  Just the facts and nothing but the facts. Burlington Township, NJ Market Statistics     December-08         Single Family Homes   Townhomes   Total Total Inventory 135 Total Inventory 24 159 Settled 9 Settled 2 11 Percentage Sold 7% Percentage Sold 8% 7% Absorption Rate (months) 15.0 Absorption Rate (months) 12.0 14.5 Analysis In December, 2008, there were 159 homes available for sale in Burlington Township.  Eleven (11) of those homes were sold (se... 01/02/2009

Make 2009 Your BEST YEAR Ever   This is the time that many people make New Years resolutions.  Many times resolutions are made on or before January 1st and broken by February 1st.  Several years ago, I made a change.  I stopped making new years resolutions in the traditional manor.  First of all, I no longer wait until January 1st to start my goals for the New Year.  I usually start somewhere in the middle of November.  Secondly, I stopped setting myself up for failure.  What I mean by that is, I stopped setting particular health and money goals.  You may be thinking....   Leander, what type of resolutions do you make?   I make one general change to my mindset for the year.  Any other goals that I make support that mindset change.    2008 was a great year for me.  My wife and others wh... 01/01/2009

Step AWAY From The Christmas Tree and Come Out With Your Hands UP!   Every year, my sister and I relive some things from our past that are funny (to us at least).  You remember chrysta, you met her in my thanksgiving post about the Green Bean Casserole.  When we were growing up, there was never a whole lot of money in the budget for a christmas tree.  In fact some years, our trees kinda looked like the classic charlie brown tree.  My mom would send us out with a few bucks to buy a Christmas tree.  Well trees were expensive and a few bucks didn't go very far. One year my sister and I decided that we had ENOUGH of this scraggly Christmas tree mess!  We also noted that at some point on Christmas eve, all of the lots closed.  There would be plenty of leftover trees that no one wanted. We di... 12/17/2008

I WANT WHAT I HAVE! This year has been more difficult than most recent years.  I personally faced personal and financial hardship.  However, as the year comes to a close, I am happier than I have been in many years.  You may think that I solved my problems or hit the lottery.  Well if you think that, you would be wrong.  I have learned to accept or want all that I have.  I could list all of the terrible things that have happened to me this year.  Why bother.   Out of each incident came an opportunity for me to expand my horizons.  Each tragedy gave me a brand new opportunity to figure out how to solve the problem.  During this holiday season, many people are faced with economic difficulties.  This year, many will curtail the usual amount of holiday spending.  Many will tell you that the... 12/16/2008

My Brother Tuesday and Wednesday, I attended the Triple Play Realtor Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  I attended with my real estate partner and brother from another mother Jonathan Palmore (see us in pic on right).  Jonathan is truly the brother that I never had.  From the first day that we met 3 years ago, we have have a strong bond that cannot be broken.  One of the things that I like about Jonathan is that he is truly a nice guy and he is REAL.  I met Jonathan my first day at EXIT Realty of Cherry Hill.  He walked into the staff meeting with a huge jug of water, a big smile and much confidence.  He went around  the table and said hello to everyone.  I thought to myself, here is a guy with a really positive outlook on life.  Little did I know the personal issues that he was ... 12/11/2008