About Broward County, FL

How Excited was I to receive the Realtor.com's "Award of Excellence" from Max Pigman last Wednesday?

I was thrilled! When I was first invited to this seminar and told that I had been chosen to receive this award, I have to tell you...I didn't believe it. I talked to my office manager and asked her if anyone else had ever had a call like this before and she said, "Not to my knowledge", we just had a little laugh and I totally forgot about it.

Then last Monday night David from Realtor.com called me and said, "Are you going to make the seminar on Wednesday morning, you are going to receive an award." I thought, "Well, maybe this is real!" so I said, "Yes, I'll be there."

Well, to my surprise, it was a real award, and it was based on the fact that I add more pictures to my listings than is required, I make comments on the pictures, and I fill in as much of the data on the MLS sheets that goes through to their site as I possibly can.

So, here is what I received:

Now, I know it's hard to read, however, Max Pigman, VP of Realtor.com presented me with this award and I had my picture taken with him during the presentation and this will be part of their website.

It was a great seminar, and they had some great marketing ideas about new camera's that take better pictures, attachments that widen the view, lighting features, and they (as does Brad) advocate the use of the iPHONE vs the Blackberry because of the ability to open attachments.

Mr. Pigman didn't know that we here in south Florida were also able to access our MLS from our iPHONE's as well (thank you Brad - you told me I would thank you and you are so right!)

So, that being said, I had a fantastic week.

How was your week? We are really busy here in south east Florida. If you need any assistance, please feel free to let me know.

http://www.KarenMonsour.com, 954-464-4194

(Copyright© 2009 Karen L. Monsour, All Rights Reserved.)

A fellow Appraiser I work with called me earlier today, to ask if I was a Flagstar approved appraiser. I said I was and check my status about 4 months ago and was still active. He stated the last time he checked he was approved, and he had a report he wrote and Flagstar would not accept it, stating that he's not approved!!!!!! So I called their Appraisal department, and I was told that, I'm no longer approved!!! As it turns out, I have not had any reports sent to Flagstar in the past year, so they kicked me off the list. I asked how do I get back on the list, I was told that my area is full and they are not adding any Aappraisers to the list in my area. I could under stand if there was an issue with the quality of my work, but because most of my clients closed down, and then HVCC, and I haven't been getting much work, I'm dropped from the list. I guess it's my fault, I should have been prostituting myself for those $150.00 Appraisal orders, that the lender love so much.

Achievement Begins With Vision - Keller Williams Agents in Pembroke Pines See it. Can You See yours. For you to get to your destination you must be able to see that place. Great achievers see the result of their hard work long before the foundations are even laid. Big visions lead to great achievements.

Ray Kroc the founder of McDonalds had a vision, a big vision. From the moment he saw the McDonald brother's hamburger stand he envisioned what it could become and worked tirelessly to achieve that vision. On the other end of the spectrum are people who suffer from addictions the length of their vision is usually short, the next fix.

A story is told that when Walt Disney was nearing death, someone remarked that it was a shame he would not live to see his dream of Disneyland come to fruition. Disney's wife replied that if he hadn't already seen it, it would never have even begun. He had already seen it all in his mind. That's the vision of a leader. That's Visualization.

At the end of every mile you traveled, the next mile becomes visible.

Have you seen what you can become? As Gary Keller would ask, what's your big why? If you don't have one yet visit us here in Pembroke Pines and we'll help you catch the your vision.

OMG I can't believe this just happened to me. I am so fed upwith these sellers that decide to do bankruptcy after the short sale has been approved and ready to close by the buyers. I was two days away from closing when my sellers decided to do bankruptcy. It was just a coincidence that the buyers were traveling from Asia to the States on the same day that the seller decided not to close. The frustration at this point for me was unbearable. Yet, Ididn't even know how to brake it to the buyers agent.

I guess that some sellers don't even care about how much time and effort it takes to get an approved short sale. I really would appreciate for all sellers to make a decision before they make us Realtors waist our valuable time! I really hope nobody goes through this!

Hay, don't we just love working for free!

Great article from Inman news today by MATT CARTER and PAT CURRY . http://www.inman.com/news/2009/11/4/real-estates-new-intermediaries?page=0%2C2

I would beg to differ with what they quoted Kris Berg as saying ..."...'negotiators' are not needed. There is no negotiating...just alot of paperwork and phone calls." What? Huh? Seriously?

EVERY short sale I've ever been involved in involved negotiating, many right up to the closing table!

Berg CAN'T be serious! Or perhaps he's never actually done one. Or, maybe was misquoted.

ANYBODY who has done short sales would surely agree!

And personally, if the Buyer's need to kick in a couple of bucks to employ the efforts of third party, whose J-O-B is to sit on hold for hours and increase the potential for a successful closing, instead of the Realtor, whose J-O-B is to bring together Buyer's and Seller's, then I think it's money well spent!

Especially considering the discounted price that the Buyer is likely getting the property for.

It really is a WIN-WIN.

And...heres a biggy for me!-> The third party, usually an attorney, takes away HUGE amounts of liability from the Realtor, who should not be in the business of handling tax returns, bank statements, pay stubs, social security information and the countless myriad of financial documents that are a necessity to complete the transaction.

Sincerely,

Dennis Hearing, GRI, CDPE, CSSA

The Hearing Group

Keller Williams Realty

Fort Lauderdale