The 2-OH-2! Your Portland Oregon 97202 Experts

OMG! I am sorry to start the weekend with such a rant but I need to talk about one of my biggest pet peeves, BEING OVERTALKED!!!

Nothing sends me over the edge faster then having someone interrupt me when I am talking, especially when that someone has asked a question and I am right in the middle of giving them an answer. I can not tell you how many times a week this happens to me in my role as a Principal Broker. When I first started managing I would just let it happen to me, you know, don't rock the boat. But as I gained more confidence in my role I started setting boundaries with those who just couldn't sit still long enough to listen.

When you start setting boundaries they can be a little rough, "hey shut up and listen" is not as effective as I thought it would be. So I resorted to the more polite method of "if you continue to over talk me I will not answer your questions" this seemed to work a bit better but not quite enough. So I asked myself why does this bother me so much. Drum roll please....because I have been an over talker myself. Surprise!!!!

I have spent years listening to people ineffectively, I listened long enough until I had the answer in my head that I knew they wanted to hear and I just laid in wait until they took a breathe and I inserted my answer. This has not worked very well at all and it has been over the last three years that I have really improved my skills in this area. I had an agent one time that could not get this idea and I told him that he reminded me of me, and how I have hard time listening and...before I could finish what I was trying to say he interrupted me..UGH! So I suggested that he wait 3 seconds after I finish talking to chime in, watching him squirm around for those 3 seconds was torture. You would have thought that I was taking away his soul.

We all know who we are, the ones that have all the answers. You think that everyone needs to know what your thinking and best of all, you're always right. You can remove yourself from that club anytime by practicing a few skills, because at the end of the day it really is better to be a great listener than a great speaker. People love to be heard and in this profession being a great listener will have a direct effect on your income. And the added bonus will be that people will truly respect you! So sit down, shut up and listen! God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason!

Steve E

The good egg

Well we made it through the toughest year I have had in Real Estate, and I know that many of you feel the same. Blow off some steam this weekend and come back ready to DEFINE 09! What does that mean? It means that we are really going to have to DEFINE, not only for ourselves but for our clients what to do regarding the real estate market in 2009. We need to be well educated, up to date on any and all mortgage news, the economy, job market ETC. The days of being single minded are gone, I do not think that in this market we can be a specialist in just one thing, we need to diversify our scope of business. The clients are going to expect us to know more then we have in the past. We are really going to have to set ourselves up as being the one they need to go to with any questions regarding housing. We really are going to have to be the best at what we do; we need to treat this as a business not a job. We will need to learn new things, new mediums to get our message out, read more books, join more social networks.

This next year is really going to DEFINE each of us as a Broker and a Business person. Some of us won't make it, but that doesn't have to be anyone in this office, but the truth is the broker numbers are going to drop. This is good news for many, because the NAR is predicting that there will be 5.3 million transactions next year, which is a great number of commission checks.

So when we say DEFINE 09 it really means getting down to the nuts and bolts of owning your own business and really taking the time to think about where your business comes from, and what is it that those people need from you in order to keep doing business with you. It means that every day you open your doors and you look to provide a great service to many. It means that every day you need to do something that is going to bring you business, not only for today, but for the next month and the next year.

You all have the capability to achieve whatever it is you want out of life. Each and every one of you has a special talent that is unique to you and your clients. Learn to expand on those talents and skills, get really good at what it is that you love. Remember to be in service to your clients and to put their needs ahead of yours, and you will have a DEFINED 09!

Thanks for all that you do!

Steve Eggerts GRI, CRS

RE/MAX equity group

Principal Broker

Branch manager

503-495-4845

http://joinremax.com/

http://activerain.com/202

The market is not as bad as you think....

As a Realtor in this market, from time to time, I wonder about my choice of career. Today, as I was working on a second offer on one of my listings I began to become a little more optimistic. Funny how that can turn itself around in a day!

These particular sellers had a buyer for their home after their second showing LAST AUGUST. It was a very low offer, and we tried to make it work, but it wasn't meant to be. Now that we have another offer, we have to rethink the whole process and the fear of not getting another offer is always lingering. As I started to crunch numbers, I realized that Mr. and Mrs. Sellers are in an excellent position to buy their next home. Here are the real life numbers and what they mean in today's market. It is an excellent time for move-up clients.

The home they are selling had an offer on it for $255,000. The home that they wanted to buy was $329,000. They would have to come up with an additional $74,900 to purchase that home. Today, their offer is for $227,500 and it is hard to swallow that they are not getting the $27,500 that they would have before. However, the home that they originally wanted was priced at $329,900 and although it just sold to someone else, the good news is the sales price was $264,900. A difference of $65,000. When you look at that compared to the $27,500 "loss" on their home, they are actually ahead by $37,500. In other words, to purchase that same home today, they would only have to come up with $37,400.

Additionally, the interest rate 3 months ago was 6.375% today the interest rate is 5.5%. The difference in payment with the smaller interest amount and smaller principal is $311.01

We have all been talking about this to our clients conceptually, but when you sit down with real numbers and real clients, it is easy to see how buying a home now is a great financial decision!

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for my career choice too!

Joleen Brann

www.joleenbrann.com

via Alex and Kelli's blog

--- sign up for the Run For Ed.5K to benefit Sellwood Middle School.

The walk will be along the Springwater Corridor on Saturday, October 19th.

Registration begins at the school at 8:30 am. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Sellwood Middle Shool Foundation and directly support the school's diverse electives program of art, band, Spanish and industrial arts.

One of the treats in my life is that I live across the street from the school and have the privilege of hearing the various bands practice. They march right past my house, in formation, looking and sounding great! The sound of the marimba band fills my garden on spring days and makes the weeding go that much better!

It's a sad fact that now days there aren't funds for the kinds of activities that many of us took for granted back in the day. Schools are forced to turn to the community in a variety of ways - and the 5K Fun/Run/Walk is one of those ways.

So let's get out there and walk -- or become a sponsor of the event. You can download forms and register at the school's web site, www.sellwoodmiddleschool.org, The registration fee is $20, adults, and $15 for kids. The 1k fun walk is free. Or get more information by contacting May Kyle McCurdy, 503-777-5312, or Dana McKillop, 503-349-1808.

See you there? It will be fun!

Growing up as a kid in So. Cal I can remember having so many talks with my Dad, usually sitting in his car driving somewhere. He knew that he had my attention because I wasn't going anywhere, at least physically I wasn't going, but mentally I usually drifted off to a place where there were no rules. He would say to me "son you have so much potential and you are just wasting your time and energy with all this stuff you do. Which was code for.."go to college, get a good job and make something of your self.

Potential? how did he know what my potential was? How does anybody know what your potential is? But apparently I had some becuase it seemed as though every adult in my life would say the same thing to me. Then one day I heard this friend of mine say that "he was being crushed by the weight of his potential" I love that saying because it was spot on true! I could hardly breathe....

Being a manger in the real estate business I find my self today saying the same things to recruits, new agents and seasoned agents. of course I don't say it out loud but inside my head I say "you have so much potential blah blah blah. What the hell does that mean, its as if my father is inside my head speaking.

I can say that hiring on potential is a mistake, it is the same as marrying for potential, you know " I thought I could change him/her". Brian Buffini says it best "when people show you who they are, believe them". As a manager my number one job is to retain agents and hopefully teach them some things about the business and life. Do I think that I can change them? No not really, I might be able to help them develop better habits and learn to run this like a business. But actually change them I don't think that is possible. Agents, especially now, have to want this more then anything else. They need to wake up every morning excited about what the day is bringing and to show that enthusiasm to their clients and other agents in the office. I am not saying that times are great, they are not great, but I have agents in this office who are doing a great job, enjoying life and doing what they can to achieve success.

This is not an easy Career path. I have been doing this for 11 years and it took me a few years to figure out that nobody is watching me, nobody really cares if you make it to the office and really if I want to make this my Career I better lift that weight of potential off of me and get moving. I love what I do, I love the agents in the office, I love living in Sellwood. But in the beginning of my career I thought this was all going to be easy, but in the end it has taken a lot of hard work and dedication to have the life I have today. I guess my Dad was right because I don't feel crushed anymore....