Color Me Realty Color Me Realty

The most spectacular thing happened to me today. I got a call while in the drive thru at Starbucks. It was from an investor off the coast of NC who was in the area and looking for a real estate agent to find investment properties for him here in Guilford County. He is an experienced investor so the first question that came to mind was, "are you working with several agents and just need one more?" He replied, "I am working with someone already but my contract ends today and I don't plan to reninstate with her." Of couse I had to know why. He said, "She didn't smile much. Even when she did, it never came across as genuine." I asked him what her performance was like as his agent, He replied, "Oh, she did great but I need to work with someone that makes me feel good about my investments. A smile means the world to me and I really don't think that's asking too much!"

Now, he and I had never met so I was curious to know how he found me. Not that it's difficult because I'm a member of just about every social networking site out there except maybe Myspace -- tried it once...too much maintenence and perhaps a bit over my head! Anyway, he admitted he found me through Twitter at www.twitter.com/color_me_realty and that my smile captivated him and that he wanted to meet today while he was in town. Turned out he wasn't very far from the Starbucks I was at so we met close by (in a very public place by the way...you can never be too safe). He pulled in the parking lot just about the same time I did. I got out of the vehicle admittedly with a can of pepper spray under my left cuff. I shook his hand with my right hand and delivered my usual natural smile. With no further discussion, he said to me..."you're hired"! We then laughed, carried on a nice conversation in the parking lot then began to talk business....simple as that!

I had to share this small wonder with you today not necessarily to prove that you can get more sales by changing the simplest of things in your life. But also, to demonstrate how people really do want the basics. A simple smile, a handshake, a joke or two, or even a laugh; all these gestures are the foundation of building incredible relationships with people. I am thankful that my photo smile came across in a way that made someone else feel comfortably convinced to hire me. I am even more thankful that it made him smile too.

PASS IT ON...

I want to clear up a huge lie that has permeated our world in such rapid pace that it should be a much hotter topic in the news than the swine flu. Afterall, this lie has become what I consider to be a pandemic in such a short amount of time. So many non-believers already are marking their counters as if it is nothing but truth. Even believers have unfortunately begun to doubt what the God's word tells us is true.

I am tired of hearing about it and I am even more tired of being asked about it. So here is the truth...simply and plainly told in God's word. If you believe the end of the world, of life as we know it will occur on December 21, 2012 then you are lost and need to pick up your bible in a quick hurry because you are living under a belief system that is designed to cloud your thinking and create a diversion that will cripple your blessings and stunt your growth as a human being. The DEVIL IS A LIAR and wants to keep you in constant fear. This myth is simply untrue and will distract you from living God's intended purpose if you continue to take part in this lie by believing it or even worse, spreading this untruth.

Matthew 24:36 says: "For that day and hour knoweth no man, not the angels in heaven, but my father only". What this means is that no Mayan or Hopi Indian's prediction of the world ending has any merit because it is not of God. If God didn't say it, then it's not true. End of discussion!

Matthew 24:24 reminds us of this: "For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that if it were possible they shall decieve the very elect". The elect means, God's chosen people. I have even heard Christians repeating this nonsense rumor. Don't be deceived people for there are definite and obvious signs of the coming of the end. And, rest assured we have been living in the "end times" since the last coming of the Lord. We are all urged to surrender our lives to Christ as if these were our last days. However, we are not urged to believe these false rumors created by man that are designed to create panic and fear and diversion from God's word to Indian prophetic gossip!

So, in a nutshell...I emplore you to let there be no more skeptism about the question of whether or not this world will end on December 21, 2012 as so many seem to believe. If even Christ himself does not know the day or the hour, how are we to believe that God will allow us the privilege of knowing this important information. Unless you think you are more deserving of Jesus Himself to know, then don't flatter yourself with accepting this date as truth. Afterall, you are only fooling yourself if you do.

You know, when I started this business some 10 plus years ago I always felt that my best contacts would be from those who I already know. I believed that I had a very diverse and unique circle of friends and acquaintences of which I could rely on to help my business develop and grow. I have a large family as well so getting referrals and leads would be a no-brainer. Members of my church family are another source of whom I grew to rely on for continued success in this business. The thought of my having to pay for lead referrals or hand out flyers and business cards to strangers or even bringing my sales pitch with me every time I was at a social gathering was unthinkable to me because of this vast circle that I am so blessed with.

I got my first wake up call about a week into the business when I went to a family reunion and saw a cousin of mine that I hadn't seen in some time. She was however my cousin, we had a great relationship and enjoyed the times we shared as children growing up in my hometown of New York. When I first launched my business word spread through the family like a CNN Alert. Everyone, I mean everyone in the family knew in a moment what I had done and vowed they would support my business. While fellowshipping with my cousin during our reunion she happened to mention to me that she lives in Charlotte now and had relocated with her family from New York. You don't say?? I asked her where she moved to and she told me that she purchased a 7,000 square foot home near Lake Norman. I asked her who she used to broker the deal. The answer gave me chills...she in fact, had HIRED AN AGENT AND THAT AGENT WASN'T ME!!!! That agent wasn't family, that agent wasn't a friend or even a church member. In fact, she was a total stranger! I was stunned and deeply hurt. Without expressing my disappointment to her, I smiled then congratulated her and continued on with the festivities.

Since that time, I have been overlooked by numeous friends, family and neighbors who have sought real estate services by an outside source. Never has there been an occasion where one of these "loyal" members of my circle offered explanation, regret, or even apologies for what they had done. After years of what I deemed to be the ultimate betrayal I finally got brave enough to ask some of them why. I was very surprised to hear their answers. While some claimed they had "forgotten" I was an agent, there were a few "honest" friends or family that were brutally truthful in their explanations. "You are just too close to us". That's it? That's your pitiful, sorry, lame, nonsense answer? No way, I couldn't believe it. Years of opportunities lost to outside agents because you felt we were TOO close? This made no sense to me. I thought people would want to hire an agent whom they felt close to and could trust. Well, I got a fierce wake up call that day and have been ever since. I even called my best friend and colleague who happens to be a psychologist just to see if any of that made sense to her. Surprisingly enough, it did! She said it is natural for people to feel uncomfortable doing business with someone they feel close to. In fact, for some it is a golden rule NOT to conduct business with family and friends.

Well, needless to say I was broken hearted and disappointed as I built my business with the notion that many of my best opportunities would come from people that I had formed close and personal relationships with. So, what has all this taught me you might ask???? My answer...."DON'T MAKE ANY NEW FRIENDS AND NEVER SAY HI TO YOUR NEIGHBORS". As for family, well you know what they say, "you can't choose them so you might as well deal with them". LOL...FINDING THE HUMOR IN IT ALL.

Many new home builders in North Carolina are opposed and pretty darn peeved about the likely adoption of a new fire code that requires all one and two-family new home construction beginning in 2012 to have residential fire sprinklers installed. Here's why...

Cost: Cost is the great concern for builders, particularly starter homes which require lower construction costs as a means to appeal to a lower income buyer.

Perception or lack of visual appeal: Many builders as well as homebuyers view residential fire sprinklers as an unnecessary component to building a new home. Often, buyers will choose a security system as a much more practical and sensible add on feature even though death from fires and burns are the third leading cause of fatal home injuries in the United States. They are commonly seen as invasive, messy and simply unappealing.

In Greensboro, NC, Gwendolyn Williams and Tracy Travis, both residing in different homes heated some oil on their stoves. They both walked into another room and forgot about the oil in the kitchen. Williams fell asleep forgetting all about the oil in her kitchen until the alarm went off awaking her from her sleep. She saw the fire and ran outside to call 911. The only damage done to her apartment was a mark on the floor from a fallen flower pot. Her apartment had a sprinkler system. Now, Travis on the other hand didn't fall asleep but forgot also about the oil on the stove. When she went back into the kitchen she realized the pot had caught fire. She mistakenly attempted to extinguish the fire by spraying it with water. Because the pot containted oil, the fire quickly spread which caused Travis to become severely burned. By the time the fire department arrived, her home was engulfed and she was rushed to the burn center to receive intensive burn treatment on her head and arms.

Unfortunately stories like these happen every day. Here in NC the ongoing fight by residential builders to stop the enforcement of residential sprinklers in new home construction has firefighters, insurance companies and health care facilities appalled at the home building industry's lack of social responsibility and level of committment and desire in minimizing damage and saving lives. For the past 6 years, fires in dwellings with sprinklers have caused 1/5 of the amount of damage in homes than fires in those without according to fire department data.

So, what are your thoughts? Should residential fire sprinklers be a mandatory feature in new homes or at the very least, should homebuyers be given a choice to have them installed?

For more information, please visit: http://www.ncfma.com/residential_sprinklers.

Cash for keys is a deal that is made by the bank offered to the homeowner in which the homeowner is given cash in exchange for vacating his/her foreclosed home in broom clean condition. Why is this is a good idea for banks? Well, it takes the hassal out of getting people to comply with getting out of the home and money helps it to happen in a more timely and cooperative fashion. Because the deal is to leave the house in broom condition in order to get paid, often times the home is left in a much better condition than a typically abandoned foreclosed home.

Ideally, the homeowner accepts the cash in exchange to the bank receiving the keys to the home. This amount can range anywhere from $300-9000 depending on the appraised value of the home. At this point ownership converts over to the bank and the moving date is scheduled. So, in theory there really is no benefit for a nonpaying homeowner to leave his home. The banks don't benefit from it and neither do the homeowner. In the end, the banks get a better conditioned home with fewer repairs to have to deal with and a more simplified eviction process in exchange for a homeowner who leaves feeling a lot better with the extra cash in their pocket they can use towards renting a new place to stay.