Dec 13 2009 A lot To Catch Up With

Good Morning.  I’ve found myself slipping into some bad habits again, so guess its time for another self-commitment.  Today is the last day for computer games for 30 days. The weather is playing havoc with my walking schedule, so all I can do is the best I can do! Walk every day that it isn’t raining, below 15 degrees or icy.  I’ve got to get back on the morning routine…go walk, eat my toast and drink my tea and read a good book.

Like I said, the weather has been dicey lately. We went to Waynesville last night for the “Night Before Christmas” festival. It was drizzling light rain and the temp was about 34 degrees. We headed home approx 9pm and as we approached home the temp dropped to 28 degrees. While on our road, I thought I felt the car slip on the road so I drove slowly to the driveway and then up the driveway. When I got out of the car, the blacktop felt okay but the rock patio leading to the front door was solid ice! Overnight the temp rose to 42 deg so the ice wasn’t an issue in the morning…we still had rain though.

Last week there were incredible wind storms that knocked out the electric power for a couple thousand people. Ours was out for about 20 hrs. What a drag. Our phones (land lines) were also out.

Early in the week, we went to Best Buy and finally, I got a new cell phone. It didn’t cost a penny. I really like it, it is a Verizon LG ENV3.

We are currently working with four separate buyers and we are keeping our fingers crossed that they all find what they want and we end up with good contracts.

Have a great day!

Dec 06 2009 Need to Catch Up!

Good morning. I guess its been a ridiculously long time since I blogged and there is no great excuse.  Thanksgiving was really nice and my parents were here for a few days over the holiday. We had a wonderful visit. I’m glad they didn’t wait until this week to come…my morning walk today was in 19 degree weather. Verrrry brrrr. We had our first real snow yesterday and it made walking really pretty and quiet.  There was no snow on the roads, but occasionally there was some patchy black ice.

Our vet invited clients of the animal hospital to a Christmas memorial for pets that have passed away during the year. Everyone could bring a photo and story to hang on the tree.  We decided to create a collage of ALL the pets who’ve passed away, worked really hard on it to be ready before the party.  We drove to Waynesville on Friday just to discover we’d read the invitation wrong, the party was for Saturday!  So, Saturday was the day it started snowing. Around 3pm the vet’s office called…they are postponing the ceremony. Apparently some of the less hardy clients had called to cancel.  Oh well, we’re ready as soon as they re-schedule.

Since the party was aborted, on the way home we stopped in at the new Best Buy in Hazelwood since we’d never been there. Certainly not because we have money to spend! But, since my cell phone’s screen is cracked so badly I cannot even read it, I thought Best Buy might be a good place to at least start researching new phones.  We were so lucky to go on that night, we met the sharpest and nicest young guy who was really great at explaining the phones that would best meet my needs.  He was also thoroughly familiar with Verizon’s plans.  Turns out it is time for me to have a new contract anyway, so he’s figured out a way to reduce my cell phone bill by $20 a month plus there is an incentive right now that we can both get our phones replaced…at no cost!  How about that?  We’ll go back tomorrow to take care of it.

We’ve been very worried, like the rest of the country, about cash and meeting our monthly financial obligations.  Even though we are working with some new home buyers, that will not happen immediately.  I had hoped that I could perform some Broker Price Opinions for real estate asset management companies, but the NC Real Estate Commission has decreed that unless an agent has a “reasonable expectation” of getting a listing as a result of the BPO, we cannot perform them without risk of losing our real estate licenses.  I will be researching these companies this week to find out how to get in line for those listings.  Again, though, that won’t be immediate pay off.

We will continue to be very thrifty and continue to pare down non-essentials hoping to wait out the economy.

Wish us luck and have a great day.

Nov 20 2009 Catching Up

Things must be picking up in the real estate market, I am not making enough time to blog!  I’ll have to do better.

I had a closing this week…yippee. I’m showing houses and property again.  The new broker of Country Classic is working out well. The other agents in our company are also picking up with business.

Next week is Thanksgiving and we will continue our tradition of watching movies all day. Sounds like heaven, only because we never ever get to do that.  It’s even more fun to look forward to because we will have very special house guests. Far too brief of a visit, but I’m really looking forward to it.

Tomorrow is another full day of showing property. The last couple of Sundays were spent going to The Great Smoky National Park and to the Pottery Festival. This Sunday will be spent getting the guest house ready.

Oh yeah, the weather forecast calls for possible flurries on Thanksgiving…doesn’t that sound like fun and holidays?

Nov 14 2009 Long Day Ahead

Good Morning! I will be getting ready to go into the office in a little bit to meet with clients and start looking at houses.  Because they are only here for a day and a half, we have a lot of work to do. This client will be moving in from out of state and starts a new job here in January.  The selected houses all look like good candidates and I hope we can identify the right one this trip.  It would be so much easier for them to settle on a good house and not have to take a rental in January.  Who wants to move twice?

I belong to LinkedIn and started a discussion this morning about franchised real estate vs independent owners.  I’m curious to see how that goes.

Well, I’m off. Will try to blog tomorrow about how the day and the discussion went.

Nov 12 2009 Mid Week Plus

Good Morning, I just got back from my walk…37 degrees and breezy. Thank goodness we went to Cataloochee Valley Sunday since the weather since has been overcast and rainy.

Cataloochee was absolutely gorgeous.  We did a little bit of hiking, had a picnic and watched the elk.  There were hundreds of them. Once I get the photos downloaded from my camera I will post a few here.

On Monday, I met with someone who was able to show me a piece of property I recently listed out in Tuckasegee, 34+/- acres.  We hiked quite a bit of it. Beautiful property with surprisingly gentle terrain for a goodly portion of it. One border is Sols Creek, a wide and rushing creek. There were several really good selling features and I feel relieved to be more familiar with it.  We were out close to 3 hours with no mishaps until right before we were finished.  I stepped backwards towards the roadway and fell on my elbow, hip and thigh. Scared my companion out of a few years aging.  I’m okay, just a couple of bruises. It is a good lesson to Realtors not to hike remote properties by themselves.  All of my daily walking sure is paying off, I doubt I could have hiked this property without the excercise I’ve been doing.

Well, time to get ready for a new day!

Nov 07 2009 Dillsboro Pottery Festival

It is a stunningly beautiful day today.  The Dillsboro Pottery Festival takes place in…Dillsboro!  Since it is a juried show, only the best potters come.  We are going to Dillsboro in just a little while.  The weather is supposed to continue just like this tomorrow so I’m hoping a drive to Cataloochee Valley in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park will occur.

The past week was eventful. Four new listings, a contract and a costume party.  Next week looks just as productive.  On Monday I’m going to meet a gentleman from the costume party (he was Capt Morgan of the spiced rum fame) in Tuckasegee.  He’s lived there a long time and is familiar with a 30+/- acre tract we just listed.  We’ll hike the property so I have a feel for the location and an opportunity to get new pictures. 

Monday evening, we’ll have the host from the costume party over for dinner or bonfire…depending on weather. Bonfire and grilled cheese sandwiches if the evening is clear, fajitas if the weather is rainy.  Rain is predicted.

We are still mulling the whole website vs webpage issue in our minds. I called GoDaddy last week and they introduced yet another option…website2nite.  Really affordable, just need to keep thinking about it.

Next weekend I will be showing properties to a couple moving from Ohio.  There are a lot of really viable properties at a good value for them to choose from.  I’ll be working as a Buyer’s Agent.

I hope everyone has a really good day today.

Nov 01 2009 Grits Bread

Good Morning! I had a wonderful walk this a.m. in 39 degree weather…no shorts today! I also just finished one of my favorite breakfasts – poached eggs on grits toast.  I know my most loyal reader loves poached eggs and I urge her to try this.  I’ll even put the recipe here:

GRITS BREAD (from The Bread Machine Cookbook by Donna Rathmell German)

Recipe is for a 1 pound loaf. The range in the water measurement will be determined by how fresh the cooked grits are. Fresh grits will require less water than those that are leftover and refrigerated.  The water is added while the machine is kneading.

1 tsp yeast…2 cups bread flour…2 tsp sugar…3/4 tsp salt…1 tbs margarine…1 cup cooked grits…2 to 4 tbs water

Bake on basic cycle. Hugely flavorable and great consistency…toasted or not.

Okay, yesterday was very productive. Showed property in the pouring rain and the effort actually resulted in an offer and a contract! Yippee! That is what it is all about.  I also made an appointment for Wednesday to meet with someone about a new listing and eventually they will need a new house. 

I’ve been listening to a cd about interpersonal communication.  I think I’ll head into either Waynesville or Sylva to see what those public libraries have to offer on the topic.  The whole premise is that in dialog, the sender is always clear in their head what message they are delivering.  The receiver, however, usually does not “get” the message as it was intended.  Based on the receiver’s life experience and values, the message gets interpreted before it is digested which can lead to a reaction instead of a response.  Reactions can include misunderstanding, hurt feelings, anger and a whole host of unintended emotions.  I’d like to get a better grasp on how to be more intentional when I deliver a thought or message and to get a better understanding of the ways the people I’m speaking to might “interpret” what I’m saying.  Should be interesting and really beneficial in many aspects of my life.  We’ll see.

We are thinking that we may sideline our website for a while, we have access to the Country Classic website which gets far more attention than ours and we don’t have to pay monthly to maintain it! I am considering attaching a link to this blog to my email signature.  Guess that will put me on the hook to keep up with it!

Have a great day!

Oct 30 2009 Time Flies

Good Morning! My walk this morning was in a comfortable 49 degree atmosphere. Still wearing shorts to walk, but a few more degrees lower and the attire will need to change.

Speaking of tires…my new tires are just great. I can tell a big difference in the way the car is handling, especially on steep gravel roads and in the rain. What a relief. Especially if you work in real estate.

The week has been very busy.  Right after graduating from GRI, I made a commitment to actually follow through on some of what I’ve learned regarding contacts.  Staying in touch with current clients, past clients, friends and family.  It really works, not only do they start seeing my in the light of a professional Realtor…so do I!

We’ve gotten 4 new listings this week. One from long time acquaintances, one from a referral and two from an agent who left our company.  We are also working with three viable buyer clients…one land, one small house and one good sized house.  We’re are hoping all three will contract to purchase and close before the end of the year.  That would almost be like making a living again!

Tonight is a costume party with another long time acquaintance. We don’t know what to expect, but the hostess guaranteed we would know many of the other guests from our Venture Out days and from real estate.  I’m going with plans of having a good time and re-connecting with people I may not have seen in a while.  We will go as “undercover operators”, arrive with masks and black outfits. The masks will come off quickly no doubt.

Today is very busy with entering new listings and preparing listing agreements for other clients.  Oh yeah, also I have a haircut appt in an hour.

Have a fortunate day!

Oct 23 2009 Making Tracks

I am so excited about getting new tires today! I’ll be making tracks with new treads. Life is good thanks to my generous family.  Real estate is a big challenge still.  The amount of work invested hasn’t been balanced out by commission received. There are so many hidden issues with all deals.  The little trailer contract fell apart.  The river land and house contract fell apart. Yikes, it makes it hard to buy your own tires!

Country Classic had a “meet and greet” table at the Western Carolina University (WCU) Staff Appreciation Event.  It was very nice. I got to see many people I had not seen in quite some time.  There is a possibility of 3 or 4 people needing to buy a house in the next year, but nothing immediately.  That’s how it works though.  A good Realtor establishes relationships with people and eventually those relationships will lead to referrals for business.

Things continue to look good for Country Classic. The new Broker is still cleaning house, so to speak. It feels good and professional.

The weather has been interesting this past week. Some indication of winter and then a warming trend.  I walked in shorts this morning, the temp was 56 and there is sure to be rain before the day is out.

Busy day today. First the tires in just a little bit, then lunch with the BIC and a client, then prep work for an appointment to show tomorrow, then an open house for an attorney in town who’s gone out on her own.  A lot of running around…making tracks in my new tires!

Have a wonderful day!

Oct 18 2009 Brrr

Good Morning!  Took the first “winter walk” of the year this morning at 7am. Temp was 30 deg and we had a few flurries last night. They didn’t amount to much…dusted the cars and the roof, but there was enough to make the roads wet. I wore a Mtn Hdwe z2o undershirt, a Patagonia microfleece overshirt, Patagonia shelled gloves and a North Face ear band. I felt pretty comfortable, except when I got back home my chin was numb!

Depending on how the weather progresses today, we might take SiSi to the Cataloochee Valley portion of the Great Smoky Mtns Natl Park today. Maybe have a picnic. However, since it is 9:45am and the temp is still only 30 deg…it’s hard to tell if we’ll get an outing or not.

I’ve indulged in a little thrift store shopping over the last couple of days in Waynesville. The REACH (raises money to fight domestic abuse) thrift store puts all women’s clothing at 50% off on Fridays and the Salvation Army has their clothing sale on Saturdays with clothing 99 cents each.  I like to look nice when working Real Estate and it is impossible to shop at full retail.  This works out well and is a “green” approach to consumerism.

My two months of daily walking is giving me great benefits. I showed a piece of property yesterday that was a piece of cake to walk.  Earlier this year, I showed the same piece and had some difficulty walking up the hill. The other benefit is that my clothing is fitting well or has become too large, hence the shopping trips!

My mother’s computer crashed again and she’s requested another link to this blog. Sure hope it isn’t the blog making her computer crash!

Have a great day!