Alamogordo, NM

While shopping with my wife yesterday, one of the rare Saturdays I took off, my wife informed me that she just realized where the name "Mall" came from. One day, a long, long time ago, a wife was going shopping in an area where there were many stores under one roof selling many a sundry items. Here husband, always concerned about her spending and where to find her if he needed to, ask, "Which stores will you be visiting, my love?" She responded, "I will be at 'themall'"! Her husband, not understanding that there was a space between "them" and "all", assumed that there was a place called "the mall" that he had never heard of and did not want to know about. After talking with his buddies, they too had heard of this mysterious and expensive place where wives and daughters go to spend money and pass the time. Thus the birth of this wonderous, magical place where you can buy anything your heart desires at twice the normal price.

www.lebronlittlerealestate.com

We just got some good news from ERA corporate headquarters. Last March at our International Business Conference in San Antonio, TX, they announced that we would not be having a convention next year due to the market and cost. Our new CEO, Charlie Young, just announced that we would be having a convention, March 14-17, 2010, in Nashville, TN. These conferences offer "tons" of education, training, information, and networking from around the world. I am really looking forward to attending. The icing on the cake...I am originally from Alabama and my oldest daughter lives in Nashville!

Thanks, Charlie!

Just finished a great closing that cost me a lot of time, effort and stress, but was worth every minute of it for my client. First of all, my seller was looking to upgrade into a larger home for their family of 5. We looked at several homes until we found a home that was just right but they had to sell their home first. The homeowner of the larger home was looking to down-size but his home had been on the market for over a year and had decided not to re-list. I asked if he would be interested in swapping homes with my clients. He said he would and the challenge was on. I first took an exclusive, one-time listing with the homeowner and then wrote offers for both of my clients for each others homes. After much effort the deals finally closed and I am looking forward to funding tomorrow. The most rewarding part of this whole transaction was when both clients thanked me for helping them reach their goals! I love this job!

I just finished a book by John Grisham that made me really think. The book, "Innocent Man", was about a murder that happened in Ada, Oklahoma, in the '80's before DNA analysis. The trial was a joke. The judge was not attentive to the evidence, the prosecutor was out to get certain people and key evidence in the case was ignored or overlooked. The point of this rant is that the victims in this case, the men who were accused and convicted of this crime, talked with the police willingly because they knew they were innocent and therefore had nothing to hide. The police convinced them that they did not need a lawyer if they were innocent. Now, I don't necessarily care for lawyers but if the police want to talk to me I think that from now on I will tell them right up front that they need to talk to my attorney.

Well, it is summer time in southern New Mexico. There are four things you have to have in order to survive here: 1) Sunscreen, 2) Sunglasses, 3) Water, and lots of it, 4) and a good attitude. With temperatures in the 100's ( it will hit 103 today at 5pm) and the humidity low (9 percent) hot weather is something you have to love in order live and work in New Mexico. The hot, dry weather can sometimes work on your mood, thus the good attitude is important. When working with clients going in and out of homes that usually do not have refrigerated a/c, the nerves can get a little on edge. We have to remember that this is an important decision our buyers are making and for some it is their first home and the first time they have compared homes. We have seen these and many other homes before and are familiar with the process but they are not. So be patient. Remember that soon it will be winter and we will be wishing for the dog days of summer.