Sue Prins- Realtor- Greater Grand Rapids, MI

This past summer I traveled to South Africa for the first time. The area that I spent most of my time is a highly impoverished community called Kliptown. It is located in the township of Soweto in Johannesburg SA. My mission was to help this community to start a sewing business that would help them produce an ongoing sustainable income for themselves and their community. It was very affective and the products they are now producing are gorgeous. They are earning income and able to put money back into the business to help it to continue growing. The picture below shows the beautiful purses they are now producing. It is so amazing considering most of the people did not even know how to sew before our arrival. These bags are produced on crank style sewing machines because of the lack of electricity.

I went through quite a culture shock upon seeing and working in the level of poverty that we were in. I thought that I had seen severe poverty and homelessness here in the inner city where I live. I was wrong. What I experienced in Africa broke me. It was worse than what I ever imagined. If you have ever seen the movie Slumdog Millionaire you will understand what I am talking about when I say it was "poverty at it's worst."

I have been thinking about that trip a lot lately as winter and snow have fallen over my corner of the planet. I am so thankful for a warm home and a warm bed to protect me and comfort me from the cold. I never realized how cold it can get in Africa until visiting there. It was the winter season when we were there and although it would warm up to a comfortable 50 or 60 degrees, it was frosty cold in the morning. It was no wonder all of the children we met had runny noses. They had just gotten up from sleeping on a cold mat on the floor inside a tiny tin shack with no heat, water or electricity.

I am also realizing, especially at this time of year, how much we buy and how much we waste. I can not think of a single thing I NEED right now. I can however think of a lot of things I might WANT. I also have a basement full of things that I WANTED at one time and have now gone in a cardboard box for some future garage sale or trip to Goodwill. I feel ashamed and pathetic for how much waste is right here in my own home. In Africa we gave over 100 warm hats to children and you would have thought we gave them each a Wii. They were so thankful for these warm knit hats that they truly needed.

My daughter who is a typical 17yr old with an attraction for the latest goods and gadgets went on the Africa trip with me. It was eye opening for her too. She came home with a renewed appreciation for the things she has and a more careful, thoughtful approach to any shopping she does. Now anything she buys she decides whether it is a "need" or a "want" and if it is a "want" how much will she really use it, and can it be shared.

This year for Christmas we won't have many presents under the tree. We have all been blessed in our home with the things we need to survive, to stay warm, well fed and so much more than that. There is nothing any of us really NEEDS. Sure we will exchange some gifts and enjoy some extra "goodies" at Christmas but instead of spending more on stuff we don't need we will contribute to the folks in Africa who really have a true NEEDS list.This kind of gift is something of great value that won't end up in one of my cardboard boxes in the basement and will make us all feel good.

Last year we decided to do this with our extended family as well. The past few years had turned into a silly exchange of gift cards so everyone decided to contribute to a combined charitable gift instead. Also what we do now for gift exchange is a white elephant gift exchange game that turns into rip roaring laughter and fun. The rules are that your gift needs to be preferably an item from home that you already have (like from the box in the basement). One year I wrapped up an entire junk drawer. It was a hit! The entire family loves this newest tradition, from youngest to oldest.

I hope you don't think I am a humbug for Christmas but there are other ways to enjoy the holidays other than the huge focus on buying more "stuff". It really feels good to give where there is greater need. If you are at all interested in joining me in this kind of Christmas giving, let me know. I would love to share more about our adopted community of Kliptown, and the needs there, for they truly are very great. We are still in need of financial contributions for the sewing project as well as the school.

Blessings and Merry Christmas to All!

Sue Prins

Five Star Real Estate

www.sueprins.com

There was an (Associated Press) article printed a while back in our local newspaper The Grand Rapids Press. It was titled "Haggling over real-estate commission fees wont hurt.". I had pondered this article with thoughts of what the public perception of realtor's and their services might be. I decided the article deserved a response in the form of a letter to the editor, but in the end decided not to send it. I don't know whether I should have or shouldn't have submitted it but my feelings have remain the same. Although the article was written last summer I have thought about it often as to how our industry has been changing over the past few years.

I would like to share the letter with you, my peers and fellow real estate professionals, and see if you agree with my response or the article. You will want to first read the article (highlighted as a link).

My response:

Dear Editor,

In regards to the article titled "Haggling over real-estate commission fees won't hurt" (an article that minimized the professional services the real estate industry provides as something to be haggled over).

There is a misconception that realtor's make too much money for the services they provide. The facts are that the operating costs for a real estate professional are more than what most people realize.

Average Overhead Costs:

Brokerage fees

Association (Multiple Listing Service) dues

Advertising- newspaper, website, flyer's, signage

Office expenses

phone, fax, cell phone,

printer, scanner, computer, camera etc

Secretarial fees

Auto expenses and fuel

Annual classes and insurance

Quarterly taxes

Avg annual expenses: $20,000.00 - $35,000.00

Another misconception about this business is in regards to the services that real estate professionals provide. Most people view our work in terms of the initial transaction - a sale or purchase of a home. There is far more to making a sale come together than driving around clients or putting a home on the MLS. It takes hundreds of hours to do the kind of work we do for our clients; research homes, set up showings, meet with clients, network to produce a sale or purchase, enter all data on MLS and website per each listing, stage homes, photograph, edit and down load pictures, consult with sellers for home staging and appearance, open houses, follow up feed back calls, write offers, negotiate offers, inspections, negotiate inspections, follow up with lenders, consult at closings and the list goes on. There is also a considerable amount of hours spent with clients advising them in order to help them make the best decision. This is not really a 9-5 job, at least for a majority of us. This is a lot of nights and week ends. I personally avg. 60 - 70 hrs per wk. I am not complaining. This is a wonderful profession but it does require long hours and hard work that occasionally rewards realtor's a commission and sometimes it does not. We do not have a guaranteed paycheck for the hard work we do each week for our clients. Not every listing sells that has had hours of time and marketing dollars poured into it and certainly not every buyer, that has had numerous hours spent with them in looking for the perfect home, results in a purchase. There are many unpaid hours of work in this profession.

The article "Haggling over real-estate commission fees won't hurt" is contradicting. The last line of the article ends with a quote by Alex Perriello stating "real estate commissions are determined between the sellers and their agents, but the best advice I can give home sellers is that it is far more important to focus on an agent's performance, especially in today's housing market." I couldn't agree more. Sellers should understand what they are getting in the way of services and understand those services are deserving of fair payment.

Does haggling hurt? Like most things- you get what you pay for. I know there are some sellers out there who have been disappointed with the service they got when they haggled. I know, because I eventually gained them as a client and was able to provide them with the kind of service it takes to get the job done well and efficiently.

Thank You.

That was my response to the editor and, as I mentioned, I did not end up submitting it.

In conclusion, I know the Realtor has the right to decline the listing if he or she does not want his commission reduced or haggled over. I also am not trying to knock fee for service real estate companies or agents. Sellers choosing these types of companies/agents typically understand upfront that they are getting al acart services and they themselves will be handling certain aspects of the transaction and marketing. So please don't misunderstand the nature of this post.

I would love it if you would share with me your experiences with "haggling" and how you handle these situations. It is not my intention that this turn into a negative post. I would just like some honest feedback and maybe some helpful ideas for listing appointments that can be shared. I know times are tough for many sellers and we have to be open minded. Times are tough for a number of realtor's as well.

Make It A GREAT DAY!

Sue Prins

Five Star Real Estate

visit me online @ www.sueprins.com

I wrote a previous post on my trip to SoCal but what I did not discuss was our journey there on the airplane. Being prone to air sickness, a white knuckled flyer, preferring a stalled automobile over a stalled airplane, flying (as you guessed) is not my favorite form of transportation. Yeah I know, it is far safer to travel to CA by plane than auto. I also know the stats of air accidents over car accidents and all that stuff. What can I say though; it's just not my thing.

Having said all of that, I have to admit there really is nothing like slicing through a cloud in the sky, or looking down through the small circular window and seeing a mountain range with a tiny postage stamp size town nestled in one of the valleys. It makes me feel so small and gives me an awesome sense of how big God is.

At one point in our journey we flew smack dab over the Grand Canyon. And Grand it was!!! So vast. It seemed to go on for miles and miles, even from the airplane.

At another point we flew through a thick layer of clouds and as we got above the fluffy pillows, it seemed like they were so thick that if you jumped out on top of them you would just bounce from cloud to cloud to cloud. I know my imagination was in overdrive at that point.

I was thankful it was a clear day. I saw so much beauty from my little circular window. I was amazed at the changes in the land that lie so far beneath me. As we headed towards the John Wayne Airport in Santa Anna CA, I saw snow capped mountains, green rolling hills, baren dessert areas,even burnt sections of land from the recent fires. There were those mass clusters of housing developments tucked in and around the mountains as well.

Then it seemed all all at once there it was! The expansive pacific ocean. It was a majestic sight . The sun was glistening on the water and tiny ships danced on the waves below. I was hooked! As we rounded back towards the land I could see a coastline that went on for what seemed like eternity. I saw miles of both sandy beaches and rocky shorelines. It was truly awesome.

My knuckles weren't so white anymore. I was really enjoying my birds eye view. It made me appreciate the beauty of our planet and the spacious skies we were flying through.

I know pictures don't do justice but I wanted to share with you a "computers eye view" of some of the beauty I saw. Hope you enjoy them.

Have an amazing day!!!

Visit me on my website at www.sueprins@grar.com