Larry Stanul

$8000.00 Federal tax credit. If you only owe $2000.00 in taxes at the end of this (2008) and buy a home after Jan. of 2009, you will be eligible for the tax credit of $8000.00 in the form of a Government check , a reduction of the amount of income taxes that you owe, or a combination of the two. Do we all really understand this? I suggest that you get on the computer and do as much research on this topic that you can.

Home prices are at a low point in our economic cycle of ups and downs. Do you know what this means? You will never be able to time the market perfectly by design, but right now is an absolutely perfect time to buy that next home.

Now, $8000.00 TAX CREDIT + LOWEST HOME PRICES IN OUR ECONOMIC CYCLE, adds up to the WOW!!! factor. The same WOW factor that you will see in the face of a home buyer when they find their dream home.

What are you waiting for? Why haven't you called everyone that you know? Everyone in your circle of clients, friends and family? Call your bank and ask for a buyer information seminar. You co-lead the program. Offer refreshments. Don't offer refreshments. BUT, DOIT.

After a long career in finance, I KNOW that many, many people may have heard about this but really haven't let it sink in. Or, they just don't understand it.

This is the biggest thing to happen to our profession in a very long time.

Get the word out... Today.

Good luck to all of us.

See you at the closing.

Larry Stanul

Did you ever have one of those days when everything went your way and whoever you talked to or interacted with was positive? Didn't that make you feel great? If you are like I am, you probably became happier and in turn treated everyone around you differently. You were more enthusiastic, joyfull and probably filled with anticipation.

Happiness is contagious. It sinks into our very being and the result of this is the feeling you give others.

Just think if everyone around us were happy most of the time. Just think of how we would feel and how we would then make all of those people who we come in contact with the same. Happy.

Every day starts with an attitude. You wake up each and every morning and when you do, you have a choice to make. A choice to be happy today, or a choice to just go about our business without any thought about how we feel. We are now open to the attitude and mood of those around us.

It reminds me of a story that I have heard many years ago. You may have heard the same story, but it has so much merit that it deserves to be heard again.

A little boy once fell into a large bin of horse manure. He was covered from head to toe with the horse increment and was heard making a lot of noise by all of those around the barn. He was not crying however. No, instead he was singing and whistling his head off. When some bystanders came over to see what the commotion was all about, they saw the boy in the pit of manure singing and whistling away. They immediately asked him, "Hey, you there in the pit of horse manure. Why are you so happy? You're covered in horse crap?" The boy looked up at them and said. "With this much horse manure everywhere, I know there is a pony in here somewhere." He took a bad situation and turned it into an opportunity and an adventure.

Now, we know that we won't fall into a pile of horse manure in our lifetime. At least I hope we don't. But, we do have our trials and setbacks. They occur when we least expect them. How do you react to them? With determination to get past it, or, with anger, sadness and defeat? Because, after all, it is what it is. How do you get through the day?

An employer that I once had worked for said it like this. "When you are not happy, it is usually because of your attitude. So, the way to happiness is very simple. Change your attitude or change your life."

Take everyday and live it as if it were your last. Treat everyone around you with respect and be happy at all times. No matter the mood that you are in. I promise you, your attitude will rub off on those around you and in turn they too will be happy.

This real estate market is making many of us unhappy. No sales means no commission income. But it is a time to re-group. A time to learn about our profession. A time to educate ourselves to become better agents when the market returns. And it will return!!! Let's make the most of every day. I choose to be happy. Why don't you too.

What's your attitude today?

Larry Stanul

I have only been selling real estate for a little over six years now. One might say that timing is everything and that my timing sucks. LOL. I got into a new career that has been on the decline ever since I entered this profession. I never experienced any of the boom years that so many of you have had the pleasure of seeing and hope that before too long that I will see and enjoy the times that I know are ahead.

I work with every client, prospect or inquiry as if they are going to buy their next home from me, or, that they will be realistic when I propose the market price for their home when they sign the listing contract. I go the extra mile and give them the service that they expect. I explain more than required about market conditions, about competition, about interest rates and how the current economy will affect the purchase or sale of their home. I am sure many of you do this too. It's just good business.

However, I also am a resource of knowledge that many of us possess. I work with those who may be transferred to my market and are not looking to buy but are looking to rent. For a year perhaps, maybe less time or maybe more. None-the-less, I go the extra mile to search for a rental property for them. I know that if I do my job and do it well that I have a better than a 50-50 chance of getting the nod when and if they decide to stay in my market and purchase their home.

An example of this has just happened recently. I sold a beautiful home for a Dr. about 2 and 1/2 years ago. However, I have been in touch with them ever since. I send them information about the economy, about the lake that they are building on, about real estate in general. Yesterday, the phone rings. He calls to hire my services for an investment property costing up to two million dollars. I was pleasantly surprised to hear from him, but was prepared for his call because I expected his loyalty to me, his Realtor. I became intertwined in his world and never let him forget who I was. I always treated him as if he were my only client. Going the Extra Mile...

Dividends can be defined in several ways. My persistence and friendship has now yielded a large dividend to me. If I succeed in finding the right investment for him and his partners, I will be rewarded generously.

The point I am trying to make here is that I did not treat him any more special than I treat all of my customers.

I keep in touch with each and every past client that I have been involved with. Some come back and secure my advice and service one, two or more times. Others, I may never hear from. But in every instance, I make them feel special. I want them to know that they can call on me for anything at any time. I still have past clients from my banking days calling me to inquire about the current financial situation. These clients will know who to call when they need their next home or business. More importantly, they will refer me to their peers and friends.

Dividends? Yes! Big Dividends.

So, if you need a tip today about how to get it done, remember to treat everyone as if they were your only client. Make them feel like the special person that they really are. After all, without your customer, you would be hard pressed to make a living. They are the reason we are here.

Larry Stanul

How many of us really are team players? Do you feel that you are the reason that you are a success? Do you really think that the company that you are affiliated with would not do as well if you were not a part of their team?

There are only a handful of us that can really say that we are a one person operation. Most of us need to rely on the talents and support of others. This is called a team. Your team consists of a variety of people. Your co-agents. your operations staff in your brokerage. The secretarial staff at the office. The receptionist. Don't forget your lender, your title company, your appraiser, home inspector. What about the client? The buyer or seller? These are just a few of your team members.

What about your family? Your significant other? Your children if you have them? They are a part of your team also.

If you think for one minute that your success is a result of you doing it alone, you are way off base.

On the other side of the coin, if you are not successful and are looking to blame your significant other, your co-agents, your operations staff or someone other than yourself, you are also wrong. The team lost and there is a reason. It is now time to regroup and see just what whent wrong. But we all lost, as a team.

We will win or we will lose in all areas of life but we will always win or lose as a team. Not one player more important than the other.

Let's all look closely who are team is made up of. Who are they. Identify each and every one of them and always remember, that we need to work as a team at all times.

I know that when you take an attitude that your team is unified, you will be a success in whatever you try to accomplish. Whether in real estate or in family life or in social settings. Teams are all around us.

Who is on your team?

Larry Stanul

The weekend is upon us and here we are. Spending that much needed time relaxing, watching TV, wasting away the hours until that dreaded day, Monday once again passes through our life.

Is this how you feel? Do you wish the weekend would never end? Then, my friend, you are in a career that needs to be changed.

Everyone of us is hopeful that the economy will take a turn for the better sometime during 2009. It may and then again, it may not. What are you going to do in the meantime?

In a prior career, I found that my days were spent doing what I loved. The time just seemed to fly by and I never had enough hours in the day to accomplish what I wanted to. Real Estate is like my other career. Time is never enough, even with the depressed, oops, wrong word, slow economy I find myself finding something to do to try to establish myself as a true professional and find more and more clients. I am building, building and building some more. To the point that I may not have enough hours in the day once this market picks up. What a problem to have. I only hope that I am able to put my body in 1st gear and punch the accelerator hard enough to get off the line with my customers demands.

I am saying this because many of us right now, while you are reading this, are probably asking yourself why you are in this career. You are trying to assess your life to determine if the wait is worth the reward. All I can say for you is that you need Passion for this work. You need Passion for any career that you choose. If you don't have it, then it is just a job. Waiting for the time you can take that vacation, or spend it watching TV.

Think about your life right now. Are you Passionate about your work as a Realtor? If you are not, try to establish that Passion once again. If you can't get it back, then it is time to move on.

Once this market turns, be ready. Be ready for a surge large enough to swallow you. Think possitively and be an optimist. Think big.

The reward will be amazing.

Larry Stanul