Educate Yourself by Watching TV?

That sounds weird, doesn't it? Usually TV is for entertainment... or for filling our minds with crud. But you can weed through all the junk and find something educational -- and NO, we're not talking about Sesame Street.

I'm talking about Home & Garden TV, known as the HGTV channel. Contrary to popular belief, it's NOT just a fru-fru decorating channel for girls. Come on, GUYS, you need to know the difference a staged home makes for your sellers, even if you never learn HOW to stage a home.

If you're a real estate NEWBIE, I suggest watching 2 hours per day of HGTV and focusing on these topics:

Curb appeal
Remodeling houses - both do-it-yourself (DIY) and professional
Home building inspections
Landscaping
Buying houses - shopping & comparing features
Selling houses - open houses, negotiating purchase contracts, dealing with sellers
Floor plans & design
Staging & interior decorating

These are all things that are CRITICAL to know about real estate sales. Having this education really makes the difference between a "newbie" and a "pro" -- and your clients will realize whether you are knowledgable or not.

The DIY channel (paid channel) and A&E channel (free channel) also have programs on house remodeling and decorating.

Watch as many of these as you can -- you will be shocked how much you absorb. And when you start giving your buyer clients advice about "how to tell the difference between the DIY and the pro remodeling job" -- your buyers will thank you!