Ray Nelson

Well folks, its Turkey Time again, and I thought I'd beat the rush and tell everyone why I'm thankful this year. I plan to spend the next two days getting the house ready and enjoying the holiday, so I need to post this now because its the last spot of time I'll have for a few days!

First off, I'm thankful for my wife and son. They really light my life, and give me motivation to strive hard and do my best in all things. My son inspires me every day as he fights hard against the boundaries of his disability, and makes me realize I need to work hard to help him fight harder. My wife works just as hard, as she is the commuter in our family. She drives to work every day in Georgetown, so on top of her 8 hour workday she has another 3-4 hours of commuting. Thank you both for all you do, and I appreciate it mightily.

I'm thankful for my in laws. Without my father in laws help, I would not have gotten into the Real Estate business, and certainly would not have been as successful as I have been. His guidance and mentorship mean a lot to me. My mother in law watches our son, and is a constant source of love for us. Thank you for being there.

I'm thankful for my friends, as they have really helped to drive my success. I have always supported and been supported by my friends. We reccomend each other to clients, help out with moves, and do whatever we need to keep our group safe and sound. Thanks for sticking by me.

Finally, I'm thankful my phone is ringing again. I know this business is feast or famine, so I'm thankful that while I feast on Thanksgiving I will hopefully be able to figuratively feast on closings in December and January. Granted, the phone isn't ringing off the hook, but as long as I'm working I'll find a way to get something sold. I hope my readers don't find this too self indulgent, but I also want to thank you guys for reading my blog. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I'm more than a little burned out by all the election hooplah, so I'm posting a post election blog a day early. Really, I have some musings on honor and country that I want to share, and hope they help some folks reorient after this particularly nasty political race. Let me first state my position: I have voted third party in the past two elections, and this election was no different. I'm not supporting either candidate, as I believe either will do the best job they are able.

First off, if you win the election you are my president. Period. Mr. Bush, while I did not vote for him nor agree with him, is my president now and I make it a point to show him the honor and respect he is due. My honor and patriotism requires that I do so. That will not change.

Second, the economy will not be "fixed" by our next president. It cannot be fixed as it is in the process of fixing itself. That's the funny thing about economies. They follow their own rules, and those rules are not concrete or set in stone regardless of what economists and politicians will tell you. However, I do believe that our economy may reset itself and go back to good fundamental values, like the ones I was taught growing up. Work hard, save your money, cook your own meals and buy your food from local farmers. I've never gone wrong doing any of those things, and the more I do them the more right things become.

Third, hope is not contingent upon a candidate, and inspiration doesn't come from a speech. I have new hope every day, and I am inspired by my son and my wife to do my best. I know it is easier to accept someone else's vision, but try to have your own. I am constantly amazed by what people can accomplish both for good and evil. And when I see the evil, I think "How was he hurt so bad that this is all he could do?" So, try to give one person hope and inspire them to do great things. Start with yourself.

Finally, problems are opportunities. If you can help someone truly resolve something, like a budget, a relationship, or finding a home, then you are successful. It is still up to them to follow through, but you have done your part. So get out there and do your part, and get excited about your opportunities!

I had the opportunity to show some gorgeous land in Stafford County yesterday. My clients want a larger parcel, so we looked at a subdivision with lots starting at 7 acres and going up to 35 acres. Prices were good, with the smaller lots starting at $159,900, which is about half of what they were 2 years ago in that same area. Well, we met near the sites, called the developers representative and met him at the lots.

Let me start out by saying that there are some hills involved. Now there is a lot of flat land around Fredericksburg, but this land is anything but! Most lots are pasture, but have some wooded areas. My we drove my client's SUV into the site and started driving around slowly. Unbeknownst to us, the land was being resurveyed to change the division from small lots to big lots. Apparently the county had some issue with a number of small lots, so the developer changed his plan to double and triple the lot sizes. He did not, however, double and triple the price, which was great for my clients. The reason I mention this is that we had the new plat, not the old one. Lot 4 was listed as a 15 acre lot, and I could see all the corner stakes! We walked around trying to figure it out for at least 20 minutes. I felt like maybe something was amiss.

Luckily the developer's rep showed up and clued us in. He offered to drive us around and show us the lot lines. That was helpful. The funny thing about riding land with someone who drives it all the time is that you notice every bump and they do not. This was especially apparent in my young couple, as she is 6 months pregnant! She is, however, a trooper so we were okay. The first piece was a nice 7 acre parcel, conventional drainfield and a couple good home sites.

The second parcel is the cats pajamas. 8 acres, mostly wooded, with 2 great home sites to choose from. One is on top of a knoll, and will give the most stunning views I have seen in this area that are not waterfront. My clients were both wide eyed touring it. The fun began when the developer's rep decided to try heading into the woods to find the lot markers. The back of the lot has a small seasonal stream to handle runoff, and the seasons passage has turned it into quite a washed out gulley. Well, we were literally 3 feet from the edge of a 10 foot drop when the husband chimed in with "Hey, take it easy here." I looked back and noticed his face was paler than a sheet!

That's when I realized maybe a few warnings are in order. If you are planning to look at land, the points below may help make your viewing more pleasant.

1. Plan on spending at least 2 hours. It takes time to walk land, find out details and ask questions. Its not like viewing a home.

2. Don't wear your good clothes. You may be traipsing through the woods. Its tough to do that in heels or dress shoes.

3. Even though it might not seem like it, whoever is driving you around probably knows what they are doing. Just relax and enjoy the view.

At any rate, if we end up putting a contract on it I will get some pictures and post them up here. It is truly a beautiful parcel.

I spend a great deal of time and energy trying to keep my attitude positive. Not just by saying peppy things, or making jokes, or even trying to help my clients see the humorous side of the transaction. I make a sincere and conscious effort every morning to try to find the best side of things, look for silver linings in the recent spate of dark clouds and believe in myself and the world. I have found a few things that make it tough, and I want to share them so I don't forget them! Also, maybe some of you will glean some benefit from them, and I hope maybe I can brighten at least one person's day.

1. Turn off the news. The newscaster is lying to you. He did not witness the events, and is reading copy written by someone who did not witness the events. Therefore your information is thirdhand at best, which means that it is pure speculation. If you really want news, read it in an article. Often the articles are written by people who are actually in the middle of the story, and are much more accurate. Finally, it is also much easier to spot lies when they are in print.

This one comes up a lot in our family, because my wife's parents are actual news junkies. Not a big deal to me, as it is certainly better than gambling or heroin, but since they watch my 5 year old son I feel like I must take issue with it. My attitude is that they are free to poison their own minds with that crap, but not my son's mind. If they don't want to watch him, they can let us know. Until then, leave the news off while my boy is around.

2. Walk away from negativity. Let me first say that I have yet to change anyone. In fact, I have yet to be changed by anyone except my son, despite my wife's firm and continual efforts. Third, I do not want to change anyone, believing that it is their right to be happy or miserable depending on circumstance and inclination. So, rather than try to change a negative person into a positive person, I walk away from the situation when it becomes too negative. I am polite, and finish my business first. I certainly don't let a little negativity scare me away from doing the best thing for my client, but if I can avoid a negative person I will gladly walk to the other side of the street. Let's face it, I need the exercise anyway.

I think of this because I recently heard from a former client, which is not a term I use often. I was approached as a buyers agent for a home, and thought about our prior transaction before committing to her. See, I have this funny ethical streak that forces me to commit totally to my clients. No half measures, no avoidance, no fudging things so I get paid quicker. Total commitment regardless of how I may be affected by their actions. I have to do what is best for them. That being said, I realized that I could not do that for this woman again. In our prior transaction she lied to me several times, attempted continually to negotiate my commission down in spite of the extra work I did and was totally unresponsive to my calls while expecting me to field her calls at all hours of the day and night. I regretfully informed her that I would not be able to help her and referred her to another agent. I didn't even ask for a referral fee, as I knew she would be a nightmare and did not want to be involved in any way. Even though it may have cost me a transaction, I know that I can give my current clients the representation they deserve because I don't have a lead weight dragging me into negativeland.

3. Turn off the computer. Really, I love blogging, but we are in a people business. Schedule your computer time, and when that time is over get up and walk away. Go out and be among people. People are meant to be social, and internet social sites are not the same thing. Now I loves me some Facebook, but I find it a poor substitute for real conversation about a meaningful subject.

I did have an example, but I think I'm going to take my own advice and turn my computer off. I hope this helps some of you destress a little, enjoy things more and go talk to some folks. That will do more to change the world than $700,000,000,000.

My recent blog vacation is over! Fortunately, I have been too busy to blog recently. Unfortunately not because I have had too much business, but family commitments have kept me rolling. However, now I am back and ready to rock again. Let's chat today about Twitter, as I am just really starting to get into it.

If you don't know what twitter is, then check out the site. www.twitter.com. Simply put, its a quick way to let folks know what you are doing. It takes a little getting used to, like facebook, but I think it has some real potential, especially for us bloggers. I have put my blog address as my main webpage on my twitter profile, and believe it will drive some traffic. Also, I have limited the hours I will receive "tweets," which are messages from twitter.

I have also found a couple useful tools. Remember the Milk is a reminder service you can use with their website, http://rmilk.com/twitter. I just started using it today, so I'll let you know how it goes. I also started following CNN by adding cnnbrk to my list of folks to follow. Breaking news and chat? What could be better! Stay tuned for more.