Anne Barrier ABR ASP CRS GRI e-PRO

Sometines it's easy to get caught up in the day to day stress and flow of real estate sales and forget about one of the main things we can offer to our clients. Access to the community! My clients know they can go to www.abarrier.com and find out what's happening at the art museum, the historical association, the Catawba County Humane Society and other areas of interest. Especially newcomers to our area don't always know what we have to offer.

Real estate is so much more than buying and selling homes - it's about helping people create lives.

I keep waiting for the bottom, and I hope we hit it last fall and winter. Although foreclosures are still coming on the market daily and the phones are still too quiet, there is a difference in the air. People are emailing more and phoning less. I have gone ahead and made an investment in my web site that I hope will pay dividends later this year. As Will Rogers said "Don't say whoa in a mud hole"! I have been working with good buyers and my listings are being shown more. I won't say we're rebounding - it's more of a glacial inching but I see forward movement. Let's go ahead in 2009!

I just came through the most horrendous ordeal of over 30 years in sales and business. This woman has driven me to drink (a very short drive) and almost to insanity and sickness. For some reason, I just couldn't get rid of her. I kept thinking about the commission on these tough times and also, my reputation as a closer. I needed to get my head out of my butt a little faster than I did and let her go. There comes a point where you think you have so much invested in the transaction that you cannot let it disappear. However, when you are taking so much crap from someone who is so stupid that it's unbelievable, it's time to cut the strings. I let her walk away from the deal and when she mentioned house hunting again, I said "Good luck, I wish you well".

Refresher 101 for me - don't be afraid to fire someone. The relief is much better than the paycheck would have been!

First of all - a huge thank you to Vickie Burton for the referral! Referrals are the back bone of my business, and I take each and every one very seriously. When a friend, client or another agent takes the time and effort to tell someone about you and put you in touch with that person - Wow! what a compliment. I heard an agent one time complaining about having to pay a referral fee when "they didn't do anything and I did all the work". Hello! You just got handed a client. A warm, living, breathing commission paying client. Of course, if you're not going to take care of that client and stay in touch with them and make them want to give referrals to you...give them to me. I'll be more than happy to satisfy their dreams and turn them into referral makers, too.

Welcome to February! Here in Hickory, I know that there can't be much more really cold weather ahead. The daffodils are already peeking up through the mulch and the robins are doing the robin thing. Time for a new house!

Have a great week this week. Your attitude is totally in your control, and boy is it ever contagious. Try it sometime.

I know that there are many investors and other buyers out there who aren't going to let the media scare them away from making the right moves. In Hickory NC, our overall MLS sales were down 23% but our inventory remains the same. Do you know what that means? We have sellers who are anxious to get rid of their properties! With good interest rates now is the time for buyers and investors to get off the bench and into the game.

Sure, the banks are skittish. Let's make sure the i's are dotted and the t's crossed before we send the contracts in! 2009 is the year to make the step and take advantage of what's out there. Let's all get motivated and make some money. The more we make, the more we can spend, and the happier every body will be!