About Conroe's Lake Conroe

Wahoo!!! I am so excited!! I am finally getting a wish that I have had for many years, something to cross off my Bucket List. We are going to Hawaii for a cruise of the Hawaiian Islands. I know, poor us, what a problem to have. Here's why I need your help. If you have traveled to Hawaii and have favorite places to visit, I would love to hear about them. There are so many things to see and do it would be nice to have some input from someone who has been there recently. We were there 20 years ago and I am sure things may have changed just a wee bit since then.

This is our first big trip since the moose at the campsite fun in Yellowstone. Diesel got so high we parked the RV for a while. I almost feel guilty taking a trip with the economy in such a sad state, but if people didn't travel, the travel industry would loose even more revenue. I keep repeating that to myself, mostly because I want to go so badly. I keep telling my hubby that we need to spend to help the economy, he doesn't seem to agree.

You can tell the economy is slowing in this area. Every day 3 or 4 people come in with their flyers about house cleaning, building, inspections, and on and on. Rarely did people come in looking for business before. However, our agents seem to stay busy and the phones keep ringing. Which is a very good thing. We need those agents out listing and selling and out of my hair!

I know y'all are busy, but if you would just take a second to tell me something great to see, I would really appreciate it. I hope your office is busy and maybe re-living your Hawaiian trip will brighten your day.

Article by: Carol Hawkins

Conroe Homes for Sale

That title came from youtube, not from me! I would never assume that these drivers were women solely based on what happens... Yeah, I should stop talking.

That's just been circulating around the office today and though I've seen some of these clips before, I still laugh pretty hard every time. I mean... why won't they just left off the gas! By "they" I mean the drivers... not women in general. Ok stopping again.

Have a good weekend!

Article by: Jacob Hebert

Yesterday our Leadership Montgomery Class attended sessions all day long with directors from several Economic Councils in our county. It was great to hear about the process of how our area attracts new businesses to Montgomery County. Of course we all know this is a great place to live and work but to actually understand the entire process was very enlightening.

J.R. Moore our county Tax Assessor shared a lot of interesting facts about tax abatements for companies and how they really work. Many people misunderstand these tax incentives as our county government simply giving away money to bring companies here. Upon learning more however, these tax abatements help these companies offset relocation costs but in the long run with the employees that they bring in along with housing needs, school enrollment, etc. the county actually benefits in tax dollars in many more ways.

Mr. Moore shared with the group that three more companies were on the list to possibly come here but due to state law, he is not allowed to divulge these companies until everything is on paper and signed. I will be most interested in these companies and when they will be coming. It was good news to know that despite tough times with the economy, companies are still choosing to relocate to Montgomery County!

Our day ended with two tours to Huntsman in The Woodlands and to Reed-Hycalog in Conroe. Both of these companies have a huge employee base and have generated new jobs for the area. It was very interesting seeing the products that these companies make and the processes involved. I felt like I was on the Discovery Channel on "How Things are Made".

To quote Mr. Moore, "The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket." Spoken like a true tax man!

A great day it was learning more about our county. I urge any of you in real estate to apply to your local Leadership Programs if available. They are very informative and will help you to be a local expert on many different aspects of where you live!

Lake Conroe Homes for Sale

When you stop and think about life without the Internet today, it is difficult to believe that not so long ago, this was something we couldn't even imagine! Now, we don't know what we would do without it!

The Internet has revolutionized the real estate market! It has allowed potential Buyer's and Seller's the ability to search for homes and to see what the competition is. The Internet has certainly made searching for a home convenient and easy! You can search for a new home anywhere in the world at any time!

The importance of the Internet has changed the way REALTORS® do business. Agents have massive amounts of data at their fingertips! This is vital when working with clients who need to make informed decisions.

Working with a real estate agent that is Internet savvy is key. It is important to know how your agent will market your home, which sites they use and how they update these sites. And of course, not all Internet marketing is the same. Make sure that your REALTOR® has a good understanding of effective Internet marketing.

With the advent of homes on the Internet, having quality photographs to show your home is very important. Dark pictures are a huge turn-off to potential buyers. Also, pictures that are stretched or distorted do not properly represent a property correctly.

When interviewing a REALTOR® find out how they take the pictures for your home. Good lighting and staging are key! The better the pictures of the home are, the more likely that you will have potential buyers who want to come and see your home.

• A 2007 National Association of REALTORS survey states:
• In 2007 over 84% if home buyers used the internet in their home search. (9% increase)
• Buyers use the internet to search for a home more than any other media.
• Home buyers say that the two most important features when viewing homes online are photos and detailed descriptions.
• More and more buyers are finding the home they buy online.

"In my personal business, 80% of my business is generated by the Internet." says Marion. "A strong Internet presence has truly increased my business!"

Lake Conroe Real Estate

We have all received those emails that have been forwarded so many times, we have to scroll through pages of email addresses before we can get to the actual message. Of course it is frustrating to deal with these address lists in general, but there are far more important reasons to avoid this behavior:

SPAM - Every time someone sends out a list of that size, the chances are in favor of a person or spam bot picking them up and adding them to their spam list of choice. This is especially appealing when someone can gain access to a list containing specific contact types. Ex. realtors, buyers, sellers, etc.

Several months ago, a major broadband provider made the mistake of emailing their entire client list of technical contacts (myself included) with every address visible in the To: field... This was a big mistake because techs are far more sensitive about this subject in my experience, and several of them voiced their opinion as such. The company issued a company wide apology, but it can't be measured how many technical vendors/spambots got ahold of that list and blessed us with their masses of product information.

EMAIL VIRUSES - Some viruses have the ability to harvest e-mail addresses from your cache folders, recipients list, or email body, and sending large To/Cc lists can further the propogation of e-mail viruses.

There are several systems and programs in place client-side and on your mail servers and to protect us from this, but it is still possible, and it's not worth the risk!

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SOLUTION:

Use the Bcc Line! Every email client has an option to "blind carbon copy" your recipients. Some are always visibly available, and others (eg. Outlook) are availble but sometimes hidden by default. In that case, to find out how to access this field, just use the best technical tool out there...Google!

Feel free to show this to that crazy co-worker that sends dozens of forwards every day... and if one of your co-workers sent you here... it's probably just a coincidence. :)

Article by: Jacob Hebert

Lake Conroe Real Estate