Southern Maine and NH Real Estate~Your source of Info on the Berwicks~Josh Holt

Recently Rick Rogala, the Real Estate Marketing Coach from Chicago, put up his list of top ten business/motivaitional/inspirational books, and being the book worm that I am, I thought I'd put up my own top ten. Susan Emo and I came up with an idea to do our own. Susan's is great and has some books not found on the top shelf. Check her's out!

1. The E-Myth, by Michael Gerber. If you want to run a business, instead of having just a sales job, this is an absolute MUST READ. This was life changing for me. Turning the Entrepreneur into a business owner.

2. Book of Proverbs, The Bible. Check out the ramblings of the richest man that ever lived. Chuck full of easy to understand stories, parables and quotes on how to gain wisdom, success and wealth.

3. Emotional Intellegience, Daniel Goleman. This is perhaps the book that has had the biggest influence on my business career. Speaks of recognizing your emotions and those emotions of the people around you, and how that influences your behavior.

4. How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie. An absolute must read. Enough said. Ok, well, one more thing. Did you know Warren Buffett credits a lot of his success to a Dale Carnegie course?

5. The Success Principles, Jack Canfield. Confession here- I am not all the way through this. So far, this is TREMENDOUSLY strong at helping me determine what is important.

6. Good to Great, Jim Collins. Good is the enemy of Great. Don't settle.

7. Richest Man in Babylon, George Clason. A quick must read for everyone who has finances ( I believe that would be all of us!

8. Art of the Deal, Donald Trump with Tony Schwartz. This is Trump before the TV show and a lot of the fame. Back when he was a hungry, smart and aggresive deal maker. Great insight that hasn't been watered down just to pump out a book.

9. Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki. Basic but fundamental book about employees, self employed, business owners and investors. Success doesn't have to be complicated.

10. The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren. Faith is a big part of this book, but even if you are not religious, this book is very insightful and will probably help you get through some sticking points in your business and life.

Honorable Mention:

Snowball, Alice Schroeder

You Can Negotiate Anything, Herb Cohen

The Puple Cow, Seth Godin

Often Wrong Never in Doubt, Donny Deutsch

let my people go surfing, the education of a reluctant businessman, Yvon Chouinard

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey

You'll notice I didn't put a link to Amazon or Barnes and Noble for any of these books. Either go to your library or support your local book reseller. I've never had a Barnes, Noble, or an Amazon list or sell their home with me, or donate to our local causes. BUT I have had employees of our local bookstore , River Run Bookstore in Portsmouth, look at my homes, and donate to our charities!

Joshua Holt

RE/MAX Coast To Coast

Portsmouth, NH

joshholt@calljoshholt.com

So we've had a cold snap up here that is sure to stick in the ol memory bank for a while. When you are bringing buyers to look at vacant homes whether REO or unfinished new construction (or a home with frozen pipes), the buyers can get really cold really fast! I was out with some buyers in the middle of this weather this past week, and got a little ticked off.

In Southern Maine and New Hampshire every winter we get cold snaps, and we get snow: It's a fact of life. But when you are selling your home, please remember that you are opening up your home to guests. That means shovel walkways, and sand them. If my buyers are coming in the middle of the storm, don't worry about it. But if these buyers are coming the day after, well, it's time to roll out the red carpet. Plow, snow-blow, shovel, salt and sand. If the buyers are worried about falling on their toosh, they are not going to be looking at how nice your entryway is or how cool your neighborhood is.

So I'm out with these buyers, a very nice young couple from Portsmouth, and low and behold, we should have brought ice skates on these driveways. And to make matters worst one of the the listing agent parks right in front of the entrance to the two houses she shows us! She takes the spot closest to the house so my buyers have to take their own lives in their hands for even longer on this icy surface. If I had not seen it with my own two eyes, I would not have believed it. I had to snap a photo with my blackberry, and quick before I feel on my own rear! What kind of impression did that make on my buyers? What kind of first impression will it make on your potential buyers? Make sure that your listing agent has good manners and common sense!

Joshua Holt, New Hampshire REALTOR
RE/MAX Coast to Coast
Portsmouth, NH
josh@calljoshholt.com
888-349-5678x 3850

Your Southern Maine and New Hampshire REALTOR

If I'm drunk, fall down the stairs and break my leg, I think all of us would expect that the doctor who treats me, would do everything he could to help, not harm me. He would set my legs, put a cast on them, prescribe some medicine and schedule me for follow up treatment. Why should we as Real Estate Agents be expected to provide any less to our clients that are drunk and have a broken leg?

Earlier today, I was doing my typical three time a day vent/rant/discussion/ general annoyance to my esteemed and venerable colleague Ann Cummings, and I was smooshing some sour grapes over how I had lost a particular listing of a person close to me, to an agent that I feel committed malpractice.

So as to protect the names and identities of the innocent (and the not so innocent), this particular agent, let us call her... Thomasa Brady. So Ms. Thomasa Brady is called by Mr. and Mrs. Seller, let us call them hmmm... Mr. and Mrs. Venus Williams. Yes, that would make Mr. Venus Williams a girl, but since this is my story, you are going to have to just deal with it. I told you that I was smooshing sour grapes.

Mr. and Mrs. Venus Williams are behind on their mortgage when they call Ms. Thomasa Brady. Venus and his wife fall in love with Ms. Thomasa Brady when she tells them there house is worth 2.5 million! They're good old friend Josh told them the truth that it was only worth 2 million at that time, but phooey with him. Isn't a Real Estate Agent a Real Estate Agent? This lady says it with such certainty, how could she be wrong? How fabulous is this Ms. Brady? She just made the Williams a lot of money! The Williamses only owe 1.9 million on their house, so life should be good. They have equity (a lot according to Ms. Thomasa Brady) so even with the rapidly clicking foreclosure clock, they feel good putting their home on the market under the "experience and guidance" of Ms. Brady. If she is wrong they will just reduce their price, and sell it where GOJ (good ol Josh) told them to list it.

In reality, what Ms. Brady did, was remove the broken legs of a drunken Mr. and Mrs. Venus Williams.

Fast forward six months. Having overpriced their property under the advise of the smooth talking Ms. Brady, Mr. and Mrs. Venus Williams are now staring down the barrel of the proverbial foreclosure gun. Having already reduced their price from 2.5 million, to the 2 million value it was worth, they have now hobbled on their broken legs to 1.75 million, where they have finally found a buyer! Only, this is short sale territory. Not only will the Venus Williams family not receive any money, they are humiliated, and will receive a death like sentence on their credit. Harming for a long time, their ability to take care of their two kids.

So back to the fabulous, smart and sensational Ann Cummings. So I'm blowing off steam to her about how wronged I was (although she already knew because I've been telling her for the last 6 months). I was the only one that was honest with them. If they had listened to me they would have sold it already. Ms. Brady lied to them to get the listing. She hurt them. She 'committed real estate malpractice???' I say, "but Ann Ann (that's what I call her), she cut the legs off of them to fix their broken legs when just a cast would have done." Ann Ann, in her infinite wisdom (I'm not sure if it is really infinite, but mine is so finite that hers sure does look infinite to me) says, "but she didn't break their legs." No, they were drunk, fell down the stairs and broke their own. It doesn't really matter how they broke their legs: the doctor treats the victim with a broken leg the same whether they were side swiped by a drunken driver or they were drunk and fell down the stairs. Regardless of how the legs got broken, the question remains the same:

Aren't we as Real Estate practitioners, supposed to prescribe what is best for the client?

Ms. Brady knew their situation. Knew they had broken legs. She should have prescribed the appropriate treatment. The problem is, is that there is no standard treatment. There is no one that can say "This house was worth 'x' on this day" with absolute certainty. Not like you can get 45 doctors to all diagnosis that same broken leg with the same type of fracture, and prescribe the same treatment. Actually, quite the opposite as you could find three different opinions of value in the same RE/MAX hospital in which I operate. Ahh, but hindsight is 20/20 and in our case Mr. and Mrs. Venus Williams now have that benefit. They now know for a fact that the home was not worth what Ms. Thomasa Brady prescribed them. In fact, they were prescribed the wrong medicine that led to the loss of their legs! What would we do to a Doctor that prescribed the wrong medicine that led to the loss of a patients legs?

But Josh, it's not the Agents fault that their legs were broken in the first place!

But it is our job to treat the situation with the utmost care, obedience, accountability, disclosure and loyalty. To use our training, knowledge and experience to the benefit of our clients- not ourselves. To me there are a few lessons that I am taking out of this. One, as always, it's about the client, not the agent. Two, I can't win them all. That's right, I am making it a point to stop smooshing my sour grapes right now! Ok, now! Starting now. Well this one is a work in progress. Three, there really should be repercussions for those agents that put themselves above the needs of their clients that it harms them. Like Ms. Brady in this circumstance, lying about price in order to get the listing; or an experienced agent that costs their client a home because of a botched short sale.

I don't know, maybe I've just drank too much of this sour wine I've just made:)

Joshua Holt

Needed a little extra something to get me going this morning after the ice storm of last week. For those of you from other parts, please say your prayers for those of up here in the North East that still do not have power or heat! Thanks to Ann Cummings and her great blog post here on Active Rain letting us know about GoGoPin, I have decided to write this post using GoGoPin to help become more familiar with it. As always, Thanks Ann Ann!

Joshua Holt

RE/MAX Coast To Coast

888.349.5678

Serving all The Berwicks and all of Southern Maine and New Hampshire

As many of you in our Berwicks area community may know, Jeff Chandler, a Berwick resident his whole life was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Jeff is married to Gina (Valenzuela), and has a three year old son Landon.

The community has come together to host this penny sale to benefit the Chandler's. It will be held at the Middle School Cafeteria on Cranberry Meadow Road in Berwick (the old high school). It will begin at 10 a.m. and the drawings begin at 3 p.m.. There will be lots of items to choose from and it has been confirmed that the game ball from the Noble High School Football Championship will be there! Also some of Jeff's football coaches from that team have agreed to be there. Coach Suttie (now at Bonney Eagle), Coach Bickford (Head Coach at Oxford Hills) and Coach Descoteaux (Head Coach at Biddeford High) will be there to lend there support to Jeff and his family at this trying time.

For those that don't know Jeff... Jeff is a giant teddy bear that is willing to help anyone. Always with a smile on his face, he has a lot of family in the Berwick area. Jeff went to school in Berwick, graduated from Noble High in 1999, and was a big piece of the championship football team in 1997. His wife Gina and son Landon are the center of his life, and are obviously struggling with this diagnosis.

Many of you long time residents of our community remember Jeff's dad Joe, and how big a piece of our community he was. To this day, the Noble Squires give away the "Chandler Award" in his honor.

I will be away from my computer for the weekend, but anyone wanting more details should call Diane Brown (Jeff's Aunt) at 1.207.457.1703. They are also accepting small and large donations directly I hope there is a great turnout, and a big THANK YOU to all those that have helped to plan this.