Richard Barbee

I spent 8 years working as a licensed therapist. I utilized Reality Therapy that was developed by Dr. William Glasser. There are some basic questions asked about a problem:

1. What do you want?

2. What do you REALLY want?

3. What are you doing to get it?

4. Is it working?

5. What could you try differently to get what you want?

6. Are you willing to try this/these other means of getting what you want?

It seems simplistic, but this rational questioning takes out the panic, fear, and emotionality of decision-making. It puts the power in the hands of the person with a problem.

Regarding Change, there are distinct stages associated with it.

1. Pre-contemplation - You are not aware of any problem and thus see no reason for change.

2. Contemplation - You sense that there MAY be a problem and wish for change.

3. Action - You realize that there is a present problem that you don't want in your life and make a decision to do something about it.

Plus 3 more stages

My question is: "If you're not getting listings, sales, dollars or whatever you want in real estate, what are you willing to do differently?"

What can you do differently? - If you don't know how to answer this question effectively, you must invest time and energy in finding 3 solid answers to it.

What are other successful agents doing? - This may be the pump-priming question you need to answer.

What do you want in your real estate career? - The answer may not be as simple or as obvious as you first think.

While this is a well-known phrase of encouragement, there are practical, physiological reasons to keep your head up.

1. Blood Flow - By keeping your head vertical, you relax muscles and increase bloodflow to your brain. This may sound simple, but the brain functions far better with more oxygen and nutrients supplied by bloodflow. As the neck muscles relax and allow arteries / veins to function fully, you realize subtle but real benefits. An oxygenated brain remembers more easily, perceives more fully, decides more quickly, creates more readily, and judges more effectively.

2. Posture - When neck muscles relax with the head in the vertical position, the back and cranial muscles are more relaxed. Headaches diminish or disappear. Sinuses are freer. Backaches are reduced. Keeping your head up and vertical will lead to less pain and more productivity. We all know that posture both exhibits mood / motivation and affects mood / motivation. In these tough times, utilize body posture and position to enable your body to function more fully.

Maintaining a positive attitude is tough sometimes. The stock market, the economy, the housing market, and the election process can have an exhausting effect on us. One small but effective step in managing this internal battle is to position our body and head in the most helpful manner.

Try it. Focus on head position and posture for 1 minute every 15 minutes. If you can, take time to stretch the neck and back hourly. Stretching and posturing correctly will increase bloodflow and reduce all sorts of problems.

Take care.

Richard Barbee, M.Ed., GRI, CRS

Real Estate Broker Knoxville, TN

Living Space

We spend our lives in places and spaces. Playgrounds, classrooms, worship centers, restaurants, and such serve as the background of memories and relationships. Of all the spaces we inhabit, our homes carry special and permanent significance. The romantic view is that home is an ideal locale in which we are loved, accepted, and valued. The cynical view is that home is a location in which people stop pretending for the public and show their true colors. The truth is somewhere in between.

We learn how to live at home. There are no more powerful teachers than our parents, siblings, and extended family. I am my family. You are your family. Some bristle against such a suggestion, but the family dynamics present in our families exert tremendous and pervasive influence on our thoughts, emotions, and behavior. For many, the home is a place to learn how to live, create, love, discuss, attempt, explore, and relax. For others, a house has been the setting to learn how to cover up, hide, escape, argue, yell, hit, pretend, and tense up.

To make a home a Living Space, we must inject life into the place. Life is that delicate and determined idea to experience reality openly and often. To live is to appreciate oneself, to value others, to feel deeply about relationships, to welcome the ever-present surge of the interesting. Children who are learning to live are wide-eyed, energetic, able to explore, curious, engaged, and playful. Laughter appears often on the faces of the built-up and the bold.

So, how do we disperse life into our homes? How do we make home a tender, safe place that is filled with meaningful, authentic relationships? How do we sow life into our home and create a Living Space? Here are 5 simple ideas.

1. Create a Memory Field - Many times, we display formal, dressed-up pictures around the house that only remind us of how much we hated to get dressed-up and pose with that hairdo, that dress, and that goofy grin. Pictures of fun times, holidays, vacations, and so on add a Memory Field around us. Like a mine field, these Memory Fields are planted in various places in the home (inside closets, in the garage, etc.) and supply a continuing source for smiles and warm feelings. We can use walls, countertops, tables, and the like to display memories.

2. Cause Guerilla Grins - In my home, we leave notes and voicemails that are guaranteed to lead to grins. We wage a guerilla campaign to leave each other written and spoken messages that communicate appreciation, thanks, thoughts, and comments. Thanking each other often, written and spoken, is a powerful method of building intimacy, peace, and support. It can be a game or a fun competition. Who can create the most smiles?

3. The Extra Mile - Others know that they are loved when we are willing to go the extra mile for them. One expression of this is to do another person's chores for them (as a surprise). The willingness to work a little harder at times in order to show love for another person is a sure way to inject life into a relationship. Parents can inspire great personality characteristics in children by teaming up with the children to do the other parent's chores as a secret gift. The children light up with smiles when the other parent thanks them for the gift.

4. Board Games - Families and friends benefit from playing board games. Assuming all members are moderately competitive and open to fun, board games provide opportunities for unique interactions, loads of laughs, and lifetime memories. Games help us drop our defenses and experience others in a fresh way. Taking the time to play games with children is a sure way to communicate that the children are valued and appreciated.

5. Hand-made Gifts - For each holiday, challenge each member of the family to give at least 1 hand-made gift. When we take the time and effort to create a present for another person, we offer a significant memory as well as a material gift. Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, and other holidays are easy opportunities to show our feelings for each other. We can teach giving and value for relationships to our children by helping them create gifts for others. And, please, don't just put a signature in a card. Write something personal and meaningful!

Life is to be lived. The end of life comes to quickly. There are simple ways to build a Living Space for ourselves and our families.

Realty Executives Associates, Inc. 865-693-3232 Cell 865-388-1621

Residential and Commercial Services

www.richardbarbee.com

Email: richard @richardbarbee.com

Wants are powerful factors in making decisions. Needs may be more or less powerful, depending on the situation and the person. In today's increasingly competitive housing market, home sellers are faced with the task of trying to attract buyers through a variety of means. Bishop, Barlett, and Lautz (2007, www.realtor.org) wrote an article that highlighted results from the 2007 NAR Profile of Buyers' Home Feature Preferences. This helpful overview indicated that there are specific items that increase home sellers' chances of appealing to today's buyers. One of the smartest and most effective ways of attracting buyers is making sure that your home features the top 5 items wanted most by buyers.

Interestingly, the survey found that there is a significant difference between buyers of new homes and buyers of existing homes. Buyers of new homes seemed to desire luxury items such as whirlpool tubs, hardwood, huge closets, upgraded kitchens, and so on. Buyers of existing homes valued features related to the efficient, consistent functioning of the home. The top 5 features for which buyers are willing to pay more are as follows:

1. Updated / New Central Heating and Air - Buyers of existing homes valued this feature most. Seventy-four (74%) percent of survey respondents considered this feature to be very important. If buyers are like me, they don't want to be hot or cold in their home. And, it seems that they don't want to worry about the expense of a new heating/cooling system after spending money on closing costs, moving costs, new furniture, drapes, new appliances and other items associated with moving into a new home. The survey indicated that buyers ARE willing to pay more for this feature. In this market, would it profit you to look into updating your heating/cooling system?

2. Large, Walk-In Closet in Main Bedroom - Sixty (60%) percent of survey respondents considered this feature valuable. Closets are used for more than clothes today. Many of us have piles of clothes, but we use our closets to store valuables, firearms, decorations, files, photo albums, seasonal accessories, and more. The closet must be big. Could you spend a little to make your main closet bigger? Could you bring in a professional closet organizer to make the space more accessible and efficient?

3. Hardwood Floors - I love this feature. Fifty-seven (57%) percent of survey respondents thought this feature was worth a bigger offer. The entryway, main walk-way on first floor, dining room, and living/family room are the most desirable locations for hardwood. The elegance and potential profit from installing hardwood is worth the consideration. If you shop around, you can find quality hardwood with installation.

4. 2-Car (or bigger) Garage - We have too much stuff! Do you agree? The garage is for much more than automobiles and yard equipment these days. A number of people park outside because they have so much stuff! Young couples and families want big garages. Two ½ or three-car garages are preferable. It may be cost-prohibitive to expand your garage, but you may consider hiring a professional garage organizer to increase the storage capacity. Survey respondents indicated that this was a very important feature. Would your home be more competitive if you improved or expanded the garage?

5. Backyard / Rear Play Area - A full fifty (50%) of survey respondents considered a medium-sized backyard that is sufficient for children at play to be very important. Whether for children or grandchildren or nieces/nephews or pets or whatever, at least half of buyers are looking for a nice yard in the back. Some seek to buy a home with a playable backyard just for the re-sell value. Consider your backyard. Would it benefit you to consult with a landscaper or Realtor about the low-cost possibilities for your yard?

Now, these are only the top 5 features from this one survey. There are a number of other features that can set your home above and apart from competing houses on the market. What is the condition of your patio, your fence, your roof, your appliances, and especially your flooring? Outside the home, landscaping, cleanliness, driveway condition, gutters, and more can play a big role in helping you compete well in today's tough selling market. I wish you well in your efforts. Email me at richard@richardbarbee.com if you have any questions or wish to schedule a consultation.

Interviewing a Real Estate Agent - Part 2

Hello again. The first part of this article focused on preparing to interview a real estate agent for the listing process. The goal of the second part is to give you specific questions to ask during the interview. The purpose of the interview is to learn as much as you can about the prospect. As mentioned in the first part, you want to determine the agent's Expertise in ethics and professionalism, Expertise in marketing (especially e-marketing), and Expertise in customer service. The open-ended, situational interview questions offered in this article will help you discern the authenticity, ability, and affability of the interviewee. Remember, choosing the RIGHT agent for you and your situation may save you headaches and dollars.

To get the most informative answers from an interview, ask open-ended questions and situational questions. Open-ended questions require the respondent to present a coherent, extended answer - not allowing the interviewee to answer "yes" or "no" to your questions. Open-ended questions allow you time to read the person's body language, tone, intelligence level, honesty, experience level, and so on. Situational questions require the interviewee to demonstrate her/his decision-making skills, ethical judgments, and professional ability by recounting specific events in the past. Asking the right types of questions will help you assess the prospective agent accurately and extensively.

EXAMPLES OF OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS

1. Will you tell me about your experience and education in residential real estate?

2. Can you discuss the formal training that you have had in selling residential real estate?

3. How do you determine the best marketing strategy for each home selling situation?

4. What are the methods you use to determine the most accurate listing price for homes you list?

5. Please discuss the demographics and market trends for this area.

6. Will you tell me about your internet and electronic marketing strategies?

7. I would like to see examples of your real estate flyers. Can you tell me a little about how you design the flyers and what guides your decision for pictures and text?

8. Will you tell me about your best and worst listing experiences?

9. Can you tell me about your concept of Agency and how you understand Loyalty to Client and Confidentiality?

10. What will your references (personal and professional) say about your ability to get along with others and follow through with commitments?

11. If you sell my house, what happens to Agency and the sales side of the commission?

12. What would it take for you to give me a commission reduction if you sell my house?

EXAMPLES OF SITUATIONAL QUESTIONS

1. Can you give me an example of a time when you could have lied about a property but chose to disclose the truth?

2. Tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with a seller client and how you resolved it.

3. Discuss a time when you told a seller client a difficult truth about his/her property. How will you give me constructive criticism about the house?

4. I would like to hear about some of the real estate mistakes that you have made in the past 12 - 18 months. Are you a perfect real estate agent?

5. Can you tell me about any listings you had that have not sold or expired?

6. Will you tell me about a time when you pitched in a small amount of money in order to make a deal work?

7. When you conduct Open Houses, what do you do to prepare? Tell us about a successful and unsuccessful Open House that you have conducted.

8. What angers you in real estate? Tell us about a time when you did not handle your anger well. What do you do to keep anger in control?

9. I would like to know about the inspectors, appraisers, title companies, mortgage personnel that you work with on a regular basis. Tell me about how you recommend other licensed professionals for the selling process.

10. When is it ethical and acceptable to tell "white lies" in the selling process?

11. How do you work harder and smarter than other agents?

12. What have you done in the past when a property is not getting showings and selling in a timely manner?

We hire professionals to provide expert, ethical services. We hire primary care physicians to take care of our family. We hire mechanics to keep our cars running. It is our responsibility to seek out the most qualified, most experienced professionals when important issues are involved. The sale of a home involves thousands of dollars in family equity. Interviewing real estate agents may seem silly or even obsessive, but cutting through the fluff of a sales presentation to the meat of an agent's ability can make a big difference for you. When listing a home for sale, you are entering into a personal and legal relationship with a real estate professional. The process endures for 30 to 120 or more days. Taking time in the beginning to choose an authentic, able, and affable agent will pay off.

I encourage you to take the reins of the selling process and maximize your chances for a successful, win/win outcome. I believe in you! Check out my website at www.richardbarbee.com for more helpful tips and my newsletter. Take Care.