JL Boney, III Columbia, SC Real Estate

One of the most difficult hurdles I have seen agents in this business get over is themselves. That's right, I am talking to you. It's not an easy thing to do, I will be the first to admit. But at some point, you are going to have to get over yourself in order to have any success at all and that's regardless of the market.

Now give me a moment to explain. I'm not just talking about your ego, Lord knows there are times when my head will fill a room too. You also have to get over taking everything personal as well. For your clients this is personal, for you this is business. This is the profession you have chosen and now it's time to be a professional.

That means it's not about you. It's all about your client and what it is that you can do for them.

You have to consider the fact that your entire job is based on giving the client what they want. Good service, good advice, and a closed transaction. Guess what, in the end that's exactly what you want too so why not go ahead and give your client what they want. Because in the end, no matter how you slice it, this isn't about you. It's about them.

I think it was Zig Ziglar that said, " You can have anything you want in life, you just have to help enough people get what they want first". So keep that in mind the next time you start thinking of yourself throughout the process. Just help your clients get what they want and in the end, you'll get where you need to be too.

These days price and condition are more important than ever. Maybe dogs are flying off the shelf elsewhere in the world, but since the market has cooled in most of the country, you need to pay particular attention to the key factors that will enable you to successfully sell your house. That being said, most people do not like their personal tastes to be critiqued and that can cause a great deal of stress for your agent. Especially if your personal taste is horrible and hinders the sell of the property. And since your agent is a little too nervous to say what really needs to be said, I am going to do it for them.

10 - Shag is a dance, it should not be a carpet. I will admit that from time to time I have seen shag carpet and thought that it was pretty cool. But each time, it was in a scene from a movie based in the 60's such as Austin Powers. Most buyers will agree with me, so lose that shag if you want to sell.

9 - I should not hear your kitchen before I see it. Or any other room for that matter. Just because you think that a color of yellow so bright that it can knock out an elephant is a cool thing, it doesn't mean that 99.9% of the rest of the world would agree with you. Remember, there are people who suffer from epilepsy and you don't need an agent or a buyer going into convulsions in you house.

8 - Raising your voice is not a form of negotiation. I know that you've seen several movies about high powered people who get their way just by demanding it and you think that's the way things work, but that movie is only for entertainment. Screaming that you don't want to lower the price doesn't suddenly make the rest of the world think your house is more valuable.

7 - Buyers don't care about you. I know that sometimes you think it's nice to ask your agent if they will communicate to the would be buyer all the reasons that it would be a great burden on you to go through with their demands, but they just don't care. They want a good deal and that's about it, so our broken leg, two jobs and inability to have the carpet replaced really means nothing to them.

6 - Dirty cloths are not a fashion statement. I could care less if you are wearing dirty cloths or not, that's more your business than mine. However, you don't need to scatter your dirty cloths that you are not wearing all throughout that house. They make dimmer switches if you want to set the mood, don't do it with a T-shirt draped over your lamp.

5 - It's not your home anymore. For whatever reason you have now decided to sell your house, therefore you no longer intend for it to be your home. So stop taking everything so personal, put on your big boy pants, and do what needs to be done to attract a buyer that will make it their home.

4- Jungle taming is not a favorite past time for buyers. If your lawn looks like you would need a machete to get through, then the buyer not even get out of the car. The only thing you do with an ugly yard is send the message that you don't care and it makes the buyer think you didn't take care of anything else either.

3 - Testing the market only tests my patience. The price your agent said the house should be listed at is usually a good indication of a price that the house should be listed at. I know, you glanced at Zillow and added $20,000 to their Zestimate to come up with your number and you want to "just give it a shot at this price." Or you could just go ahead and price it right from the start and not waste anyone's time including your own.

2 - I know less is more sounds wrong, but let's lose the chicken figurines anyway. The last thing you need to do is draw attention to how little counter space already have by overloading it with crap you don't need. I understand that some of these things may have a great deal of meaning to you, but that's all the more reason to store them out of sight so nothing happens to them.

1 - It's not worth more just because you lived here. Let's lose that ego, because unless you are very famous or are perhaps a historic figure, then your living here doesn't really add value here. I apologize if you are famous, but in case you haven't heard stars are losing money on their houses left and right these days too. So if you're just Joe Blow from the local corporate conglomerate, then I'm sure you're a great person and your family loves you, but see number 7 would you.

Have a nice day!!

Everyone wants to be liked, it's just part of human nature. I'll bet that you can scour the Earth and never find anyone who wakes up in the morning and says, " I hope someone hates me today."And more than we want anyone else to like us, we want clients and potential clients to like us. That means business my friend.

But guess what, liking what you have to say in the long run can create a lot of future problems for you and your business. Telling people what they want to hear just to get the listing will only come back to bite you down the road. Every seller wants to hear that their home is worth a ton of money and you can sell it in no time flat. But if that's not the case, then you need to be the voice of reason that explains otherwise.

Sure your chances of getting the listing might improve when you tell the what they want to hear, but your chances of the house not selling at having an angry client also increase drastically as well. So here's a wild idea, tell the truth. It may not make you the most popular guy at the time, but you'll keep your integrity and you won't waste your time or the seller's.

Homes for Sale in Rockbridge Village - Columbia, SC Homes for Sale

Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of traffic on Trenholm Road, a main road through Forest Acres, you will find the wonderful new community of Rockbridge Village. Rockbridge Village is located just off of Rockbridge Road just next to the well known Rockbridge Country Club.

Rockbridge Village offers an excited opportunity for home buyers to purchase a brand new home in Forest Acres. This beautiful community is one of the first new home communities within Forest Acres in many years. These wonderful homes will be built by Sovereign Homes, a high quality local builder, and will be their carriage home line that is currently being built in Lakeport in Chapin.

The lovely homes in Rockbridge Village will feature granite countertops, hardwood floors, wonderful open floor plans, heavy mouldings, formal dinning, master down in most plans, all brick exterior, custom cabinets, and much more.

With curiosity already mounting for Rockbridge Village, which has yet to have a grand opening, there is little doubt that this beautiful community will be a huge success. Lots are currently available, and it's never too soon to get in and pick your spot before all the best home sites are taken, as some have already sold.

Rockbridge Village will start in the high $300's. So if you are looking for a home in the Forest Acres area, then you should certainly take a look at Rockbridge Village.

Homes for Sale in Wood Lake - Columbia, SC Homes for Sale

If you are searching for homes for sale in Columbia, SC and you want to live in one of Columbia's most sought after communities, then maybe Wood Lakeis the place for you. Located off of Rhame Road in Northeast Columbia, SC, Wood Lake is a beautiful community with winding streets and mature trees that greet you as you drive or stroll through.

Only minutes from the Village at Sandhill to provide you with all the shopping, dinning, and entertainment that you could want, Wood Lake is in an ideal location. The community is also only within minutes of I-77, 277, and I-20 making a commute to virtually any side of town easy and only 20 minutes away from the main gate of Fort Jackson of Forest Drive.

Of course the use of the word lake in the name is not just to make it sound good, there is a great lake in the center of the community with several homes lucky enough to be right on the water. If you don't have a home right the lake itself, you can still enjoy it, as Wood Lake has a playground and a club house right along the shore, also in the heart of the community. Makes a great place to relax and enjoy the afternoon.

Homes for sale in Wood Lake in Columbia, SC start off in the low $200's and most of the homes are over 2,000 square feet. Wood Lake is an excellent community for anyone looking for a new home in the Northeast Columbia area. So if you think that now might be the right time for you to make your next move, then I suggest you stop by Wood Lake and see what this wonderful community has to offer.