Montgomery, TX

Are we in Real Estate or Education?

My answer is BOTH. Part, a large part, is the educational process of our customers and clients. If we were to define our positions of Realtors®, and the insignia ®, one of our main duties is to educate and watch the backs of our buyers. When you get a phone call or email contact from a person looking for a property, what do you do? Do you help them learn about our business? Are you Teaching them what they need to know?

Do you say, "sure, I'll show you" or do you say, "May we discuss what it takes to purchase a home?"

Which one do you think is the right way to go?

You do not have to answer that.

I know you know the answer.

We could run and show the home to whomever chooses to want to see it or we could "QUALIFY" the customer/client and decide the best way to proceed. I have found that the main way to proceed is to EDUCATE the interested party.

Do I want to show them something they can't have?
no...

Do I want to spend my time (which equates to money) showing without qualifying properly?
no...

Do I want to create "desire" for a home that a client does not qualify for?
heck no...

Do I want to disappoint my client or customer or waste their time?
of course not...

Do I want to send paperwork to a potential lender knowing they have a snowball's chance in Hades to qualify?
Nope...

These are all great reasons to qualify your client!

But, here comes the Key that makes you an Educator/Teacher. Once you have established that your client is qualified to purchase, the work begins.

Remember to Teach the Specifics and the "Protocol of the Process..."

"We, the REALTORS®, hold Your desire of home ownership in our hands...not by being able to grant your wish but by "Teaching" you the way to make your dreams come true!"

Deb Brooks, REALTOR ®

Just imagine the thought process of the average water bird when confronted with the reality that the water in the lake is going away at astounding speed!

For us as humans it is an inconvenience at this point. To sit and watch the ripples and rapids is no longer entertaining since the water is so low at this point.

For the birds it means that a source of food as well as a place to swim or fly to has been removed.

Today we watched a couple offing legged water dwellers as they made do with what they have. A duck bravely swims at the base of a boat slip. One has to wonder if he is stubbing his webs on the bottom. The Lake continues to recede. We are told that it is 13 feet shallower than it was about a year ago.

Nothing should ever be taken for granted!

In this challenging economy with its ever shrinking job availability, we are constantly amused at the ever present creativity shown by business owners.

Along hwy 105 between Montgomery and Conroe stands this brave advertising icon.

There is a Marble Slab Ice cream establishment in the strip center behind this display. We are guessing that one probably relates to another.

We could not help but chuckle at the sight of the animated ice cream cone cavorting on the roadside. It did not however inspire us to go order an ice cream. Perhaps it was simply due to the cold wind or the less than ice cream like temperatures.

Wonder if they are doing market studies to track the effectiveness of the advertising? Wonder how we can do something similar to boost our visibility!

ActiveRain you make me laugh! Your Google Juice Tickles Me!

It's been a very long week...month...and so on! This last week though has been a bear.

I have been missing my blogging and my friends and my contests and my points and of course, last but not least, MY GOOGLE JUICE! Today I was dealing with yet another hitch in my "getalong" and I received a phone call.

The lady on the other end of the line asked the question, "Are we having the Montgomery Trade Days" tomorrow? ( I AM LAUGHING TO MYSELF) as it clicked right away why she was calling!

My immediate question to her was, "did you find me on Google?" and her answer was "yes!" You see, I had written Localism Posts during the September Challenge each and every day.

Deborah Byron had a contest for Localism Postings for the month of September.

One of the posts I wrote was about the Famous Montgomery Trade Days!I was at the top of Google!

I explained to her how the Trade Day's work and asked her if it would be her first time here...

HER ANSWER WAS A GOOD ONE!

"Yes, she said. My husband and I are moving to Montgomery and will be looking for a home!"

(Deep breath) and "Well, you have come to the right place!" I will be meeting her at the Trade Days tomorrow to show her around!

ActiveRain? You make me laugh with joy!

Thank you!

Deb

The pictures above were taken Labor Day weekend. I was going to post them right away but then the wild fires started and after that the lake issue seemed trivial. Now that the fires are over I am back to posting about Lake Conroe. Lake Conroe is a back up water supply for Houston and with the severe drought we have been in they have had to start taking water out of Lake Conroe. It is so sad to see the lake being depleted but at the same time I understand why it has to be done.

If you have followed my blog you know that we are in two active sail boat clubs on the lake. We were out at the lake Labor day weekend and it looked like a ghost lake. Typically you would see several sailboats and a lot of motorboats out on the water. We saw maybe three motorboats, a couple of jet skis and NO sailboats on the lake.

We have a Catalina 22 which is a relatively small sailboat. We have the retractable keel and keep it at Conroe Yacht Club on dry ground. Our friends with the larger boats have had to find creative ways to get their boats off the water.

I expect it is going to be several years before the lake is back to normal. We will miss our sailboat races but in the grand scheme of things people having water to live with is more important.

Please pray for rain in Texas. It is going to take a lot of rain to get us back to normal levels.

For all your Spring/Tomball/Magnolia TX Real Estate needs, contact me today!
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty
Cell: 832-721-8332