Monica Hubert

Okay, this is not my first Rodeo. I have been on Listing appointments before but this time, it is all ME.

Let me explain, When I began in Real Estate 3 years ago, I started out as a member of a "Team" as their Assistant. I had my license but was not active. My Job was mainly support and servicing their listings.

Then several months ago I decided it was time for me to go active again, I went to another Team and mainly worked with Buyers. I did go to 3 listing appointments for the Team Leader and I got all three listings. When I got those listings though, they didn't really feel like they were mine because I was the Co-Lister.

Fast forward to Today. I have my first listing appointment all by myself. I am excited and a bit nervous. I want to be the best Listing agent I can be.

My Question is, what do you do on your listing appointments? What makes you stand out above all others? Do you have an action plan? Do you Pull comps and bring them with you? How do you respond to the Sellers who feel their homes are worth more then the market will support?

Any other advice you could give me about Listing appointments would be greatly appreciated.

Okay, so I got to thinking today. Yes, it does happen. Rarely, but it happens none the less. Do any of you have music on your Homepage? If you do, what Genre? I am a music girl at heart and I love all music. I am an 80's child therefore I LOVE 80's hair bands! Give me Poison anyday...lol

Okay, the point to this Blog, DO you have music running on your site? If you do, do you worry that some of your visitors will be inclined to not revisit because of your Music?

For instance, If someone who likes Jazz visits your site and you are a hard rock kind of person and you have Ozzy Osbourne on your site, do you think it will keep some people from returning?

I once worked on a local Builders website and he wanted Music in the background. He liked the Cheers theme until he heard the midi of it on his site and then he HATED it.

I have heard several people that are majorly supportive if football had "Sweet home alabama" playing on their site. I love that song but I know some people that would maybe have been offended if they heard it playing.

SO......The question is, DO YOU or Do you just leave it silent??

FYI - I do not have music on my site but if I ever decided to put music, I would definitely have something that is very American like Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA.

Okay, if you think this Blog is just a bunch of nonsense put together and it makes no difference to you, Tell me, I can take it...hehe

Over the years I have came across quotes that have warmed my heart and made me think real hard about my life and the direction it is taking. I felt like sharing them here so they may touch someone else like they did for me, or at the very least, I will always know where to find them again. If you come across a quote that I have not given credit to due to lack of origin, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due! There will also be some of my own personal quotes in there. Happy reading!

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it.
-- George Moore

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.
-- Jane Howard

Families are like fudge... mostly sweet with a few nuts. <GIGGLE>
-- Author Unknown

At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent.
-- Barbara Bush

Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin.
-- Grace Hansen

You spend your entire life looking for happiness and then when it stares you in the face, you ignore it. ------Monica Hubert

Never give up on something that you can't go a day without thinking about.
-- Author Unknown

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today.
-- Dale Carnegie

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage.
-- Lao Tzu

I believe that two people are connected at the heart, and it doesn't matter what you do, or who you are or where you live; there are no boundaries or barriers if two people are destined to be together.
-- Julia Roberts

If I never met you, I wouldn't like you. If I didn't like you, I wouldn't love you. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't miss you. But I did, I do, and I will.
-- Author Unknown

Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable.
-- Dr. Joyce Brothers

Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.
-- Oscar Wilde

Buy land. They've stopped making it.
-- Mark Twain

I am nobody. Nobody is perfect. Therefore I am perfect.
-- Author Unknown

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
-- Noel Coward

Love is temporary insanity curable by marriage.
-- Ambrose Bierce

TO BE CONTINUED......

Okay, so I have been in the Real Estate field for a few years now and I am doing pretty well, so far. I would love to learn more about the Mortgage process.

My challenge to you Mortgage people out there, Educate me! I want to know about the whole process. I hate being unarmed when asked a question about mortgages.

Tell me about the Pre-qualification vs Pre-approval process. I do know that they are different, explain the difference for myself and other newbies.

Credit, what's the big deal?? (I do know how important good credit is) I want you to spell it all out for me. I am sure that there are consumers out there reading this, I am also pretty sure that there are consumers out there that don't think they could ever qualify for a mortgage, whether it is due to credit, job, income level or etc...Explain it to me, therefore you will also be explaining it to the consumers.

I met a Buyer (Couple) at a home this past week looking for a Lease Option/Rental. When I got the call (Which incidentally was a floor call at my office) I spoke with a Young couple that were starting out their lives together and they decided to ask people they knew about qualifying for a mortgage. They were talked out of even trying to qualifying. I met them at the rental/lease option they were interested in and began to ask questions. Why do you want a lease option? Would you rather buy a home? Did you know that if you bought this home as a Lease Option you will be paying more then what the Builder could build it new in this market? My Buyers were very aware that everything I was saying was accurate and agreed they would probably pay too much for the home in a lease option. They then explained that they had asked some questions to various sources and were pretty much talked out of getting approved for a mortgage or even trying to get approved. I then explained that most rental agencies will pull their credit. Why would they not want to get their credit pulled by a Mortgage company and see if they could qualify for a mortgage rather then a rental when clearly, that was their ultimate goal anyway? They agreed and I got them in touch with a great Mortgage company/Person. They are now in the process of getting pre-approved and if they get approved, we will begin looking for a home to buy. If they have some work to do on their credit, they will now be aware of it and we will then find them a rental while they get prepared to buy.

They got me thinking, If they as a young couple are out there talking to friends and family who are not trained Mortgage people or Real Estate people and they received enough information to discourage them from even "Trying" to buy a home, then there must be more like them. I know that even being in Real Estate for the last 3 years, I still have a lot to learn about Mortgages and financing. I want to learn it. Please fill up this blog with the information you feel if important for both consumers and Realtors to understand about the process. Thanks in advance for any information that is shared here and I look forward to learning all I can.

Well, things have been busy here lately. I have gotten several leads on the Internet.

I spend a good part of my day online. Doing online marketing. I have various websites, blogs, game sites and play areas. All geared towards Marketing. I have purchased a domain name through GoDaddy, their site has a lot to offer. I have not used all of the perks that GoDaddy offers. I have used the website tonight page builder and I love it. Some think it is difficult to use, I used it to create a great webpage with a splash intro page which looked wonderful.

I have a personal website with Point2Agent. I have pointed my Domain name at it www.buyingocalarealestate.com I have the basic version of Point2Agent. My version is free of charge but it limits the extras that come with the site like reports, extra photos, blogs, number of pages..etc. I have managed to get quite a response from my site even without the extras I don't get.

Active Rain, I have used this site for a couple years. I have come and gone a couple times. In the time I have gotten on Active Rain I have received many possible leads, one turned into a listing that turned into a sale. I have learned very valuable information on this site and gotten answers to questions I had that I could not find the answer myself.

www.remax.com is a great resource. I use it frequently. If I have a buyer that is looking in an area outside my local MLS, most of the time I can find the listing on www.remax.com. There are some great extras you get as a privilege for being a member of the REMAX Family.

www.realtor.com is another excellent resource. With realtor.com you can access properties overseas on www.worldproperties.com With many foreign born investors these days, it is imperative that you submit your listings to world properties on www.realtor.com .

www.craigslist.com is an interesting site to say the least. There are some, diverse (for lack of a better word) people posting on that site, one thing I have done is submitted my listings on my local craigslist and have received multiple responses on the properties. Most of them did not turn into a actual lead but 2 of them did. Good leads at that.

MySpace?? Millions of people are on www.myspace.com daily, why not use this as a resource?? Make a Real Estate networking profile or even a group. It will get noticed.

Local Newspaper sites. Our local Newspaper is the Ocala Star Banner www.Ocala.com is their website. It is an amazing marketing tool. There are forums, articles, Real Estate resources and much more. Seek out your local paper and see if there is a site for it!

www.ocala4sale.com is an amazing tool as well. It is a local classified site, kind of like craigslist. The site is a bit more controlled then craigslist though. You can post your listings on www.ocala4sale.com for a minimal fee and include photos. Prospects can e-mail you from the article. Check your hometown, there may be a _______4sale.com in your area too!

I know that I can come up with many more Internet marketing resources to share, get online...start searching. Make your presence known online. The Real Estate market has gone Technical. I see so many great agents that have been in the business for 20-30 years and they are barely making it now because they don't understand the new technology. You have to change with the times if you expect to last in this new age market.