Christine McInerney & Jennifer Halinkowski, Green, EcoBroker, e-Pro

Here I sit preparing and anxiously waiting for my first National Association of Realtors Conference in my hotel in Orlando, FL after awaking in a "Twitter-like" state. I think I have officially reached Social Media overload- I was dreaming in Twitter! I woke up with my heart beating fast and arrhythmic, my breath shallow, and head in a blur after being bombarded and almost attacked in my sleep my short little blurps of information flying at me in the forms of @ and + signs. I have learned that Twittering right up to bed time should never replace reading a traditional book!

As a former high school Biology teacher of 8 years, I consider myself a life-long proponent of education, a life student, an information junkie per say. I have been in Real Estate for about 1 1/2 years and have taken my new career by storm grasping and tackling any information that I can find. Lately, I have been spending countless hours reading about all the social media groups and blogging practices and trying to familiarize myself with all the different platforms that are out there in attempts to better connect to and serve clients and other professionals in my field.

Last night my Real Estate partner and I sat in our hotel rooms- lap tops out- and were trying to find our best schedule for the NAR conference. There is SOOO much going on and we are terrified we are going to miss something essential- we have divided the programs up and are trying to schedule ourselves in two places at once- and because there are two of us it is possible- just one of the many benefits of working with a Real Estate Partner.

Now I am awake and still a-twittering, even more so after filling up with some good coffee, and heading out for my first conference. I hope my dreams come true and return filled to the brim with new knowledge!

Visit www.HomesForSaleKnoxville.com for all your Knoxville REAL Estate needs!

Lately I have seen and commented on several posts about the benefits of using real estate teams. As a member of a highly efficient Real Estate team myself, I am a huge proponent. Together we are Christine McInerney and Jennifer Halinkowski of Team McIn-Kowski with Southland GMAC Real Estate. We both have incredibly complex last names that no client has yet been able to pronounce or spell. Therefore, we combined the two parts of our last names that are the least often slaughtered "McIn" and "Kowski" and combined them into Team McIn-Kowski.

Real Estate is a career that is full of surprises and unfortunately clients often dictate our schedules. Sure I would LOVE to only show and sell houses during the "normal business days", however, many of my clients work during the day so evening and weekends are the only times that they can meet.

In my experience, when it rains, it pours. By this I mean I will sometimes go entire week without having a single client that I am "actively" working with then the next week have several clients all requiring my attention at the same exact time. Leaving me wishing that I could be two places at one time..but, as a team you literally can be in two places at one time. Not to mention we can divide job duties, phone calls, and basic tasks, straight down the middle.

Being a team also allows each member to focus on their strengths. For example, both my partner Jennifer Halinkowski and I, both work with Buyers and Sellers. However, given the choice she would prefer to work with Buyers (perhaps because for 3 years she was an exclusive Buyer's Agent). I myself really enjoy the listing side of the transaction (although I enjoy working with Buyers as well). She also loves to do paper work- and I would much rather her do it for me...lol. I LOVE to talk, so when we get calls, I am usually the one to return the phone calls and keep up with communication with our Sellers.

We also both maintain our own websites but link back often to each other and all of our advertising contains both websites which allows us to get extra traffic.

We are a 100% full team, meaning that every check that we each receive gets split 50/50 by our office. We split all of our expenses and share equally in the business risks that we take.

I would not trade being part of a Real Estate Team for anything...in my opinion the most important part of my business plan is my partner. Our clients love that they have two FULL time Realtors working for them- we call it the "two for one special"- two heads are better than one!

www.HomesForSaleKnoxville.com

www.KnoxvilleReal-Estate.com

BRRRR...Winter is encroaching, the days are becoming shorter, the air is cooler, and our monthly energy costs could be on the rise. However, by following these simple and inexpensive energy saving tips you can not only reduce your Carbon Footprint but save money at the same time.

Going Green is a lot easier than you may think and the benefits can be huge. Below is a list of some simple things that can be done to reduce your overall winter expenses.

1. Embrace the power of natural sunlight. Simply keeping you blinds and curtains open during the day will allow the natrual sunlight to enter your home, not only filling your home with a warm glow, but will also allow the natural heat to enter your home. At night close your blinds and curtains to help trap in the heat.
2. Tend to your fireplace and chimney. Fires are often a winter tradition and can add a sense of warmth and comfort to your home. However, when your fireplace is not in use make sure you keep the damper shut to eliminate drafts. If you choose not to use your fireplace for anything other than decoration, consider capping the fireplace with an insulating material to avoid drafts.
3. Replace your incandescent light bulbs with energy star compact flourscent light bulbs. These bulbs not only last longer but also use 75% less energy.
4. Eliminate excessive water heating:
   - Showers account for about 2/3 of water heating bills- cutting your shower in half will not only help
   reduce dry skin, but can also cut water heating costs about 33%
   - Be wise when using your appliances- don't run the dishwasher and washing machine until they
   are full. Opt for air dry on your dishwasher and use only cold water in your washing machine-
   this can reduce your appliances energy use by 75%.
   - Add an insulation jacket to your hot water heater-this quick and inexpensive fix can save 10% of
   energy.
   - Consider a low flow shower head
5. Check your weather stripping and caulking- this simple preventive maintenance of replacing worn and tattered weather stripping, caulking and sealing gaps around your exterior windows, and inexpensive gaskets behind your interior outlet covers will keep the warm air in and the cold air out.
6. Add some insulation to your attic and crawl space- check your attic and crawl space for missing or inadaquate insulation. One of the biggest way to get the most bang for your buck is insullating your attic- this inexpensive fix will save you allow you reap the energy saving benefits year round.

Visit www.HomesForSaleKnoxville.com for all your REAL Estate Needs!

Selling and Buying Luxury Homes in Knoxville, TN

We've all heard the saying "Home is Where the Heart Is". This saying is all true and good until it comes to sell your home. Once a homeowner decides to sell a mind frame shift has most likely occurred. Maybe the seller has fallen in love with another home, another city, or a lifestyle change has left the home no longer fitting the owners needs.

Therefore, the new motto becomes "Show me the Money". Now how you go about getting that money is the hard part and should play a huge role is how you go about picking the right REALTOR ® to market your home. After all, you have invested thousands of dollars and countless hours into maintaining your Knoxville luxury home and how it is marketed will have a huge impact on how much money gets put back into your pocket.

So how do you effectively market your Knoxville Luxury home? First off you need a REALTOR ®, or even better the Knoxville REALTORS ® Team of Christine McInerney and Jennifer Halinkowski of Team McIn-Kowski with Southland GMAC Real Estate who know what Buyers want and how to effectively capture them.

So what are some essential questions you should ask potential REALTORS ® and important statistics you should know?

1. What is your main source of advertising? If the answer you receive includes a hodgepodge of print sources move on quickly. According to the National Association of REALTORS ® over 85% of all home Buyers search predominantly on the Internet! You need REALTORS® such as Team McIn-Kowski who advertise where the Buyers are...which is the Internet!

2. Does the Realtor have a website or websites? Christine McInerney www.HomesForSaleKnoxville.com and Jennifer Halinkowski www.KnoxvilleReal-Estate.com of Team McIn-Kowski have several highly trafficked websites and perform their own search engine optimization that provide not only a unique visitor experience but also showcase and feature listed homes in a creative and high tech way that is unmatched in the Knoxville Real Estate Market.

3. Do they use a Virtual Tour? Christine and Jennifer of Team McIn-Kowski utilize advanced photo stitching virtual tour programs to allow potential Buyers to form the emotional connection with your Knoxville Luxury home before they ever even step foot inside the door. In recent Buyer polls, over 60% of Home Buyers find virtual tours extremely important in helping them search for their next property.

Check out some of our virtual tours by clicking on the icon below.

4. Do they utilize Video Tours? Let's face it, some Knoxville Luxury Properties, especially those with land or beautiful landscape views may not be able to be fully represented using still photography alone. Christine McInerney and Jennifer Halinkowski of Team McIn-Kowski are one of the few Knoxville REALTORS ® who employ professional videographers to capture and showcase their Knoxville luxury home listings. See some examples below (click on image to watch video):

5. Does your property get its own website? EVERY single property that is listed with Christine McInerney and Jennifer Halinkowski of Team McIn-Kowski of gets their own unique website and customized domain sign rider displayed on the For Sale sign and on pointer signs. View some of our current homes for sale below:

www.7112MarleePark.com www.1811RavenHill.com

6. Advertising Luxury Homes with land. Do you have a Knoxville Luxury home with land or great views? Team McIn-Kowski employs aerial photography using high tech devices to capture your properties beautiful features and views. Check out some of aerial photos of a luxury home in Hardin Valley Knoxville, TN located at www.12115CouchMill.com.

Your home is perhaps your largest financial investment, it is the place where you hung your hat, resided in, and made home. When it comes time to sell your Knoxville Luxury Home enlists the REALTOR ® Team McIn-Kowski with Christine McInerney and Jennifer Halinkowski to get your home sold. We treat all of our home listings as luxury homes, regardless of price.

If you are looking to buy a home in the Greater Knoxville TN area instantly search all homes for sale at www.MyKnoxvilleHomeSearch.com. If you are looking for a luxury home in Knoxville TN visit http://knoxvilleluxuryhomesellers.com.