Well...Little Aubrey Lynn was born May 9th, 2008 and she has been a wonderful baby! She is our first child and being a mom really is a full time job! It's tough to work between naps, but I have tried to start getting creative! My latest marketing idea was to send out a direct mail that looked like this:
When I Grow Up I Want To Be A REALTOR Just Like My Mother!
Until Then, She'll Be Taking My Calls...
(Rated G)
It was just mailed out so I have yet to get any feedback. :) She's really cute isn't she!? Not only did I just have a baby, but I also recently moved from Florida BACK to Virginia, so getting back into the VA market has proved fairly difficult when working from the nursery. There aren't as many foreclosures here as there are in FL, but the numbers are growing. So...
While sitting in my big chair, I decided to start working toward my CFS designation. (Certified Foreclosure Specialist) Why not right!? It makes for some interesting reading (when I can).
I filled out my 411 for Keller Williams (all of the KW agents know what I am talking about) and my goal was to blog at least twice a day to boost my visibility on the web...well...that hasn't happend. Little Aubrey is very unpredictable and her naps are getting shorter and shorter!
I added a LOT of content to my website: www.nakedrealestate.org and tried to purchase www.nakedrealestate.com seeing as how the gentleman that has the site hasn't done anything with it for over 8 years...and apparently, since I have been blogging with www.nakedrealestate.org, another agent came in and offered more for the .com site. Yes...I wasn't too happy about it, but I can't afford what the other guy offered since I now have a new baby with too many unknowns...but it was my idea first! Roar!
I have also attempted to read all of the marketing ideas that Active Rain sends with featured blogs...I have read one. Yikes!
Life has been very interesting and exciting with little Aubrey. She has started doing quite a bit of cooing these days and she is getting so loud that talking on the phone is getting difficult! Silly girl! Hopefully you can take some ideas from what I have started working toward, but any other ideas would be greatly appreciated! I hope you enjoy this short and quick blog, but the baby is waking!
Cheers!
Valorie Ford
Keller Williams Realty & Bright Vision Mortgage
434-327-6900
Do you have a client looking at $1,000,000 plus properties but having a hard time finding financing? I have several options available with the paramaters below. Please feel free to contact me with any and all of your real estate and mortgage needs!
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Need Signed 1003, Credit Report and 3 Months Bank Statements...All Pages
Valorie Ford
Keller Williams Realty & Bright Vision Mortgage
434-327-6900
Do you have a borrower that is high net worth that needs to close fast? I have the perfect option for you! The Fast Cash Asset Portfolio Loan! I can close the loan in 5 days and we are able to lend in multiple states!
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2) Copy of the instrument (CUSIP #s)
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Please submit name, number, state where you are located and best hours to be contacted. Look forward to hearing from you!
Valorie Ford
Keller Williams Realty & Bright Vision Mortgage
434-327-6900
These days with energy prices so high, many are turning to "Green" building in hopes of reducing our environmental footprint (and to ease the strain on our pocket books!). Today, homes with the "Green" label areone of the few hot trends in an otherwise morbid real estate industry and builders are jumping on board! This has given some builders a much-needed niche, but it's spurring others to apply the term with very little to back it up - a problem that is being termed "greenwashing" and it is spreading throughout the building industry like wildfire.
This has been a common complaint from both real estate professional and builders alike and advocates fear that the ever-more-widespread use of "green" confuses and misleads the public. "Some of these builders are putting that on as a tagline, when all they might be doing is putting in compact fluorescent light bulbs and Green Label carpet," says Drew Smith, a founding member of the Florida Green Building Coalition. So how do we as agents and consumers know if we are getting the real deal? The only real way for valid assurance seems to be an independent, third-party inspection that can verify what has been done will actually provide a green benefit.
There are sites that you can look at to further increase your "green" knowledge and soak your brain with the LEED for Homes, NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines, the SBIC Green Building Guidelines, and the ICC-NAHB National Green BUilding Standards, and you will begin to find common threads between the different programs. They are based off of project design, energy efficiency, water efficiency, construction best practices, renewable energy source, material selection, lot planning and site preparation, and indoor air quality and maintenance. There is a LOT more to it than energy efficient lights and recycled carpet!
Always remember, buyer beware! Just because it says green, doesn't mean it is!
2008 is going to bring a lot of big changes for America. A new President will be elected come November. The Fed will continue to cut rates. The housing market will hopefully bottom out... I predict big things for 2008!
VALORIE'S 2008 PREDICTIONS
*Based on what I have seen coming out regarding the real estate and mortgage market, I predict that the Presidency will step in and aid those struggling with adjustable ARMs.
*Gas prices will continue to rise until they cease come Spring and start to fall. This rise in gas prices as well as increased unemployment will prompt the Fed to further cut interest rates.
*Federal Funds rate will drop to 7%
*We will experience the lowest mortgage rates in years and mortgage brokers once again will see an influx of refinances
* The housing market will bottom out this summer and level out (and possibly pick up) closer to November
If anyone else has something to add, PLEASE include. I would love to hear other people's thoughts on 2008!
HAPPY NEW YEAR
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