Annie Hart Cool, Cape Cod Real Estate Specialist

Oh happy day! The Sun is out, the air is crisp the PGM's and magnolia's are dotting my yard with color, the birds are singing and homes are selling... LIFE IS GOOD! Yesterday I spent the day helping my sellers at 84 Streeter Hill with their yard sale. I am not a Yard Sale girl, although I may have joined the converted. From 9-2 I welcomed the die hard yard sale goers carry treasures to their cars, decide on whether the item will really work in their home and negotiate the price. From 9-2 I counted the money, smiled and greeted and enjoyed the droves of buyers. Let me tell you... Yard Saling is a culture all on it's own. From 9-2 I handed out business cards, answered questions and considered myself on the longest job interview of my life.... I ended the day with 7 contacts and many appointments for next week. REAL ESTATE IS BLOOMING on CAPE COD!

In this economy, out of the box, thinking is keeping me in the GAME! Try it!

Ah, no 4 letters ever sounded so good! My New Hampshire house is SOLD! WOW. Did not expect to sell it... had resigned myself to carrying this house for a few more years, renting it, investing more money into holding the property.... but today...it sold.

Bittersweet on some levels... but more sweet than Bitter. I will miss my safe haven in the Mountains. Our Ski house, the kids don't ski anymore. Our refuge...My free pass to outlet shopping. I will not miss the 4 hour drive. I learned a couple valuable lessons.

the first: All Realtors ought to sell a house of their own now and again to have empathy for those they work with. All realtors ought to have to go thru the aches and pains of moving, the nervous wait for a phone call from their realtor.. the anxious business of finding a mover, electricians, roofers etc...particularly when you live so far from the property. Realtors need this empathy.

The 2nd thing I learned... Is USE A REALTOR! I know it sounds crazy but I hear of Realtors trying to sell their own properties themselves...knowing little about the market of their property, wanting to save on the commission (where have we heard that before). If you really believe in what you do ...than believe, hire, and pay full commission for professional to sell your house.

Worth every penny. When I saw that my Realtor (Mary Dragon, Dragon Real EState Plymouth New Hampshire) was getting both sides of the commission... did I ask her to cut it? NO. NO. NO.

She worked hard. The old attage... Treat others how you would like to be treated.... Yeah, that's right.

How sweet it is... SOLD! A Happy 4 letter word.

I am a "glass half full" person. Raised by an optimistic yankee and single mother of 5. I have always been credited with reframing negative situations in order to see the positive..... But even the cheerful have their down days... Well, mine lasted a couple of months...(hello menopause) smile.

After a weekend in Snowy Chicago with Realtors from all over the Nation... I was turned around. I heard how great our Country is, how vibrant Real Estate is in some parts of the Country, how so many of us "get by giving".

I came back refreshed... ready to get organized, prepared to hit 2009 with revived enthusiasm...

because ...who needs another sad sack... there are too many of those to begin with. A shift in my thinking and action breeding action... in 4 days I have signed up 4 new listings and processed 3 offers to purchase. HUH? WOW!

So I challenge you to change your frame of mind, get off the pity pot, get to work at what ever you do, smile at the next person who frowns... and welcome the real estate market ...invite it in, on its terms. Smile. Change... and say thanks!

O Happy Day....New Year, New Market! I have just spent the weekend at a Master Sales Academy and heard only optimistic projections for 2009. After all... optimisim is the only response to the negativity that surrounds us. Recently a seller of mine had to return a sizable deposit because the buyer, who was still interested in the house, but was impacted by the PONZI scheme tha is making national news. With great disappointment the Sellers released the deposit, understanding the buyers had bigger worries then they even knew ahead of them. Who needs that Karma? Shake it off... cut it loose.

So Optimism is the best idea... Keep your spirits up and challenge all the negative around you with a smile and a care free response. Noting last forever, history has taught us this. We need to smile more and bitch less...

Happy New Year... and I really mean it ...HAPPY New Year.

I am not a "boat rocker". I avoid conflict. A peace keeper. A people pleaser. Raised by a single mother who raised 5 kids after having been widowed 2 x... I am a self starter, a diplomat, an economist, a glass Half full... kinda girl. I get things done. I am successful.

Yesterday I STOOD on a busy rotary with a sign for a Candidate running for state representative. I STOOD because I believe in this man. I STOOD and was so grateful to be an American who could STAND for someone...What a gift it is to be FREE to express, to vote, to STAND for someone.

I had other places I would have liked to have been. I wrestled in my head the entire drive to the rotary with all the other things I should be doing. The committee in my head was working overtime to convince me standing on the Rotary in the cold was not the "highest and best" use of my time. But I made a commitment. I STOOD.

I waved and smiled and gave the thumbs up to the people who passed. I endured the honking, the avoidance of eye contact by the drivers who were on their phones or singing to their radios, I even smiled at the young who gave me the finger more than once. It is, after all, Their RIGHT. However, not polite.

I thought about how I will now treat people waving on street corners. I thought how I will go out of my way to smile and wave and honk because... They are STANDING. I may not support their candidate. But I so support their commitment.

Maybe that is what we are missing in America. A majority of the courageous who will STAND.