Susan Brinker - Wright Realty

I am seeing more and more ads for these reverse mortgages. When I saw the first one on TV a couple of years ago, I thought there must be a catch somewhere in all of this. Then we had an informational meeting about it at the office and of course I had to miss that meeting. I was told that FHA has adopted it as a program, but that there were quite a few questions that the financiers at the meeting could not answer.

What is the general feeling out there in regard to the reverse mortgage? Am I the only one that doesn't trust it ? Maybe I just need to be educated on it. Understanding often brings acceptance. The way it is presented in the TV ads, makes it seem too simple. What about estate taxes? What about the heirs responsibility? What if the individuals live to be very old? Help!?

Phew! What a class! I feel like I have been Ed - U - Ca - Ted! "Quick Start" was a good name for the class. The first full day after the class you really feel like getting started right away. Maybe partly because you sit for the drive, you sit for the instruction and you sit for the drive again, for two days in a row, two weeks in a row. But boy it helps to have a great instructor like Anita Hill. She was concise and funny and offered alot of new perspective.

The class is officially called NHAR REPS 101 & 102. It's part of the GRI designation. And maybe it should be a required class before you can get your license. I really wish that I had taken it in my first year. It gives you all the info you need to start off on the right foot. For instance, it walks you through what you would normally think is obvious. Things like compiling a database or creating a script for the phone or a checklist for interviews with buyers and sellers. These are all obvious to me now, but when I first started, I was so overwhelmed that these obvious things were all a big blur.

Consequently, now I feel like I'm starting anew with a fresh outlook and new motivation. Combine that with the current Buffini course I'm taking and how can I lose? Even the slow market is a help to me right now, so I can get all of this new stuff in place. If you have the chance to take this course, you really should no matter how long you've been in the business.

Falling leaves. Falling prices. Falling sales. Falling income. Falling market. Phew! I'm falling all over myself trying to understand it all. Can I survive the fall? Can I survive the Fall? Will I be one of those real estate agents who are free falling right on out of the business? Everyday I ask myself that question. I am fairly new to the business and I have no reserves to speak of, so it's scary.

We all do whatever it takes to stay in the place that we have chosen for ourselves and I am no exception. The Mount Washington valley is my place. I don't want to be anywhere else. And I think at Coldwell Banker Wright Realty, I have found an office that will be the cushion if I fall. Or better yet, will be my safeguard, so I won't fall. So today, my answer is "No! I will not fall!"

That leaves me with no choice now, but to comment on the "falling leaves" part of this blog. I was driving by a part of Pequawket Pond the other day and just had to stop and capture the Fall moment. As the foliage peaked day by day, i took more and more pictures of the reason I want to stay here. These examples are only part of the reason that others want to vacation here, move here, raise their families here. Now the frost is starting and in no time, the leaves will be gone. Soon the snow will be fall, fall , falling.