Not my real estate farm, my croplands. We got water yesterday, water from the Carson River to irrigate with. Coincidently, my grandson was out of school for the day so what else does an almost-nine year old boy do? Work with Papa. We started at 8:00 a.m. putting the boards in the diversion box. There was water in the ditch so it gets tricky. No problem for Gabe - he wanted to put the boards in - a first for him. He did a good job and I taught him to tell his mother how many he put in, "a lot". He learned that the crickets hide under the boards.
During the day he had many wonderful experiences. A garter snake was in the alfalfa. With no wind at 
that time we could see the plants sway as he squiggled his way through the plants. Gabe asked if he could pick it up ... sure. He did and enjoyed it. He let it go and watched it slither away into the alfalfa.
We inspected a pine tree that the horses had chewed on. It had a lot of new growth much to my relief, and on closer look we found a nest. I peaked in and saw five blue eggs. I lifted him so he could see them - rubber irrigating boots and all.
Ladybugs were everywhere in the alfalfa. I saw one plant with eight pretty red bugs on it. He loves ladybugs and has "hunted" them for years in the field. He is older now and stayed on irrigating task ... in between hunting for snakes. (We don't get snakes very often - only the 3rd garter snake I've seen in 5 years, but he didn't know that.)
I pointed out the bad weeds and we picked many. I showed him a superbad one, Canadian Thistle, and told him that we would come back with a shovel and get it. I moved on and heard an "OW" behind me. I turned and he was grabbing his hand. Yes, he had tried to please his papa and learned why we were coming back with a shovel. I shared his hand pain later when I pulled a foxtail that had a small wild rose branch in it. My turn to yell "ow"!
Later he took the boards out for the first time. It's a tricky job trying to stay dry while reaching in the rushing water with a hay hook to pull up the board. He learned that the water sounds different when all the boards are out.
He skipped rocks in the ditch - even found an old horseshoe and tried skipping it. He asked if he could, I said yes, and it went kerplunk. But it was fun! His best skip was a 6 ... not bad for an irrigation ditch. He fell in the water three times during the day and slid down a mud bank.
We went over to his great grandmother's house between checks and put up her swampcooler for the summer. He was a big help there as well. From there we went to the main diversion box and pulled the big boards. He remembered being there before, and liked being in that big field.
He asked a lot of questions about things all day long. He seems to be processing on why things were created. Had some run-ins with mosquitoes - they are on his "Why List". Why the snakes? Why the ladybugs? And so on with his curious mind all day long.
At the end of the day we took him out to one of his favorite restaurants for dinner - mud, grime and smiles. A break through day for my grandson - the day he went from hunting ladybugs to working like a fine young man ... with a snake or skip diversion once in awhile.
Oh, yeah - we got a good soak on all the fields.
I went a football game Sunday ... yes a football game. This is May, and it was youth football complete 
with cheerleaders. The program is called Excel Athletics. They play in the spring, and we, Douglas Pop Warner, play in the fall.
The spring program has more of a recreation mindset - they practice 2 days a week and play games on Sunday. Their values mirror ours, and they have a very high emphasis on scholastics, as do we. One of the major differences is that they have no weight limits. This allows kids that don't fit in the Pop age/weight matrix to get some football experience before they hit high school.
It is important, because even though the child may be big, he may not have an interest in playing in high school, but at least he can pad up and play the game now. Other kids put their emphasis on soccer in the fall - this gives them an opportunity to experience the great game of American football. This is not intended to compete with baseball, but not every child wants to play baseball. This spring program keeps them busy and off the couch.
We have a good relationship between our Pop Warner program and Excel. They understand the problem with trying to compete for the same athletes in the same season in a small town so we have different seasons for the same sport. Some of our coaches are starting to coach with them, and our athletes are participating to have a little extra football experience. Fun to go see our coaches, parents and athletes at play enjoying the game they love. After all, football is a passionate emotional sport - even at a recreational level.
I believe children should experience as many different things in life as possible including a variety of 
sports. They will gravitate to those that appeal to them more than others.
Youth sports are the foundation of society - they learn the values to be contributing members of society - teamwork, sportsmanship, discipline, commitment, and scholastics. Keep it fun, keep it safe, and always be a good role model for the youth. Get involved if you aren't - you are shaping the future of your community when you put good values in the youth of your community.
Every child was given a sticker helmet this weekend to remember an 11 year old that signed up but did not play in the program. He committed suicide last weekend. Tribute was not to honor, rather to remember and learn from his passing. Important to get kids on the field of play, whatever it is, and keep them active.
Spring has sprung and so has the real estate market. We are experiencing a tremendous surge in business and are hearing reports of increased activity from other markets. So why are so many agents still the messenger of Do
om and Gloom?
It astounds me that they still walk in to their listing appointments with a Doom and Gloom mindset and message. The sellers that are selling today have their own Doom and Gloom stories or they wouldn't be selling right now. They don't need a gloomy agent, they need a realistic agent that will get their home sold without rubbing their situation in their face. 
Reminding them that they are out of work, have lost $100,000, or more, in equity, or have blown up their credit rating is going to make you an anchor with them for these bad times. When things improve who are they going to call ... the Grim Reaper?
How about being the great breath of fresh air that gave them hope?! Spread the Sunshine and Joy and have fun doing it! It's contagious and your customers will catch it.
Be a messenger of Hope and the facilitator of Joy ... its your job!
So you were the high bidder at the foreclosure sale ... your work is just beginning. You don't know what condition the home will be in until you get in the house, but the owner or tenant is still living there. What do you do?
The best thing you can do is to work with them. Understand their situation - many think they are doing a workout with their bank and the sale is a "surprise" to them. If you listen to their story, and offer them the home back you will start to get somewhere. Usually, they won't want the home back. Either they can't afford it or the memories are too negative.
They might want to rent it for awhile while your sort out your deed and marketing plan. If they keep it up and move out nicely this can be a good thing for you. You can even have them stay there rent free if they take care of it and don't strip it on the way out.
The easiest is to give them something for moving. We just experienced one where the owner had a list of things he had done to the house. It included new dishwasher, cabinets in the garage, window blinds, etc. The list included many items were know as fixtures, but they were of value to the owner. The list totaled over $3,000. He was emotionally done with the house, however, and wanted to get on with his life. He took $1,800, will be gone in 10 days, and is watering and mowing the place. A win/win for the investor and the owner that just lost his house. It is making the best out of a bad situation.
The lack of cash flow affects all people. Some are deserving by lack of judgment or greed, but many are simply victms in this economy. Nice people ... good citizens ... never been late on a bill in their lives ... now three months behind in payments and haven't paid their real property taxes.
We just listed a home and the seller meets that description. They bought a new home in our community 
at the top of the market and had the rug jerked out from under them when the market changed. The rest of the story ... she is an agent that owns her own office in another town.
It doesn't matter if you are an agent ... escrow officer ... loan officer ... we've seen them all foreclosed on recently and they all have one thing in common ... they are nice people. It is sad, but we can help them in our role as short sale agents. We can help them get this situation behind them quicker by getting their property sold and we do many extra little things so they aren't burdened by escrow minutia that just grinds on their emotion.
Nice people can be victims too - help them recover quicker and do all you can to make the process emotionally bearable for them.
Most nice people aren't used to conflicts and adverse situations- they need you now more than ever even if they are part of our industry.
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