How many times over the years of doing Real Estate have we wished we had a more balanced life while maintaining the needed level of real estate production? I know, I do have a life, but a lot of it does revolve around Real Estate to the point that it is out of balance sometimes. People who have a normal work week (whatever that is now) may not fully understand what I am saying. Then again, they may as people in our conuntry works longer hours than people in any other country in the world. Many people I know who are not in Real Esate work as many hours as I do. While I love what I do, I would like to be able to do it without it taking up all of my life. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, as most people in all professions would like to do that also.
I used to say I would need two or three lifetimes to do all that I wanted to do. We all know that is not going to happen and yet, here I am giving the majority of my time to my business. Perhaps that is the way it is with most entrepreneurial businesses, and/or small businesses. It is a difficult balance to do well in your work and take time off to do the things you enjoy. That may be the advantage of having a team and I may work more toward that within the last quarter of this year. I have a closing coordinator who takes a lot of the load off from contract to closing on either listings or with buyers sides. Feedback from my clients on this issue as been, "she was wonderful, on top of everything". But, they did miss talking with me as much as they had been. I will have to be sure I call them weekly (or more) when in contract with either the seller or buyer sides. As many times as I have told them to call me should you need to talk about anything, sometimes they don't want to bother me. I am going to need to initiate that more when under contract to make sure they are ok with everything that is happening, as I have worked with them very closely in some cases, for months.
My clients have heard me say many times that one of the hardest parts of my job was working with them so closely, becomming friends and after closing we did not get to talk as much. The were busy getting settled and maybe in new jobs as well, and I was busy working with new people. I have been keeping more closely in touch with them after closing as it is just good business practices. really like most of the people I've worked with too, and could visit with several times a week if I had time.
After some tweaking on my system and set up for followup, a buyer's agent would be needed. I am soooooo picky, it is difficult for me to turn clients over to a buyer's agent unless I know she/he can do as good a job as I do with my buyers. Most fairly experienced buyers agents want to go out on their own after they learn (you teach them) what they are doing. The only way to avoid that will be with the DISC testing, and I will certainly do that when ready to take on another agent into my business. This test helps you to know what place on the DISC they fit into. You can then determine if you have a personality type that will be happy doing what you need them to do.
Balance and Systems . .. that is what it is all about.
Now that Gustav is calming down significantly and New Orleans was not a direct hit, the Republicans need to get the Show going. While I respect the downplaying of events while this threat was eminent, it does appear the worst may be over. According to the National Weather Channel, it is now a category 1 and heavy rains and possibilities of tornados still exists.
It is great that the entire area was not hit as hard as it could have been had hurricane Gustav sustained the earlier projected momentum. If the levies hold after the worst of the rain is over, they will be all clear on this storn. They may be waiting to see if that happens.
Next up is one headed for the East Coast. We'll see what happens with that one later in the week.
Just down I-85 south in Anderson, SC there was a balloon fest this weekend. In a race yesterday, a balloonist/pilot plummeted an estimated 4,000 feet to earth and fortunately, landed in a tree. He was seriously injured but not fatally which could have been the case had he hit the ground instead of the tree. The tree cushioned his fall a lot; at least better than the ground where his injuries could have been far worse. That could also have caused his tanks to explode so he is really one lucky man to have landed in that tree. The news people said he was from Michigan and so was the couple I rode in a race with several many years ago. They were husband/wife and each had a balloon they raced. Regardless of who it was, that is not a good thing.
Two firemen from the Fire Department were watching the race and were on their way as soon as they saw the balloon falling. Apparently it deflated; the cause is being investigated. One of the firefighters described it falling like a "rock with shoestrings"
This and other incidents of other serious balloon accident/incidents makes me almost certain I will not do that again. As I have gotten a little older, pain is something I try to avoid now, not seek possibilities for that to happen. Hope he has a speedy recovery and gets home to Michigan soon.
It appears the new Hurricane Gustav is now a category 3 and heading directly for the Gulf Coast. It is almost certain that New Orleans will now get a huge dose of this hurricane, even if not a direct hit. The States most likely to be affected are Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida will also see lots of rain and maybe worse. Right now, it is category 3 with winds at 115 MPH that can strengthen and it appears now it is heading for New Orleans/Louisiana and Mississippi. Some spin-off rain into our area would be welcome, however, our very first hope, is that no one dies from this storm and the damage is not as great as Katrina.
From the news on TV, the powers that be are ahead of the game this time and are evacuating everyone. Because of what happened the last time, most people will probably go rather than stay. That would be the smartest decision they may ever make. Hopefully, they will be able to go home soon this time.
Even the politicians are keeping a low profile right now with the possible damage that could be done to the Gulf Coast Areas by Gustav.
A couple who have been clients of mine for years, called me late last week to see a home in a sub they like. After seeing the home, we may write a contract (cc) and put their home on the market ASAP. It is workable for them and we will see if it is still there when we get theirs sold. They have completely updated their home so it should be a reasonably quick sale, given where it is and the schools with which that address is affiliated. If the sellers are open to accepting a cc, we will write one. If not, we will just get their home sold so they can buy that one or another.
Experienced, Knowledgeable, Hardworking, and Professional. Knows communities in the area, Property Values & Marketing Homes. You will not be disappointed when you work with me.
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