About Montgomery's Lake Conroe

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 ®

Wanna buy a beach house at Brooks Prime Properties.com? There are so many to choose from and you really could use one. I'm buying one right now on this website that I found...brooksprimeproperties.com

I wanna buy a beach house at Brooks Prime Properties dot com! Yeeeaaahhhh.....

Do it today!

Cute huh? He did too! What a testimonial! And, what a way to market!

Enjoy,

Deb

And if you would, how much would you charge? Let's say you have maybe more than 50,000 points, you've meticulously set up your Profile page with your personal and professional information and testimonials...you got your background all set up and you've begun to blog. At 50,000 points you still would have blogged quite a bit to acquire that many points.

How much time do you have in that Profile and how much is your time worth? Your Profile includes everything you have done on ActiveRain including your Posts and Blogs and Comments.

Now, let's try it again...you are more of a prolific blogger and you have 250,000 points or upwards of that. Some of you are over a MILLION POINTS! How much time have you put into your Profile? What is the value of that time? Have you received any referrals or direct calls that either produced a sale by a new listing or a Buyer? How much would that add to the value of your Profile?

Active Rain, after built and optimized, is a true asset.

If you are like me and my AR Profile boosts my personal Website through my blog feed would your site lose status with google if your feed was removed? Do you have a direct link to your site from ActiveRain that could cause you to lose position and the collective power of ActiveRain Members and their content?

How much would it cost for a competitor to purchase your position from you?

You have already optimized your profile and you're posting so potential Clients and Customers in your area will find you.

BUT, if you think about it your local competitors could easily change the name and acquire your URL with all the benefits of your points, search engine optimization and google placement without a hitch.

How much? Could it be monetized?

Or, would you consider this at all?

This question can be posed for just about any County on the map.

This is an unusual Market Report. But, our Market may see changes very quickly.

Montgomery County is truly being affected at this point. This is really a scary question to ask since it does have an answer. First of all what would or could cause the property values to drop?

Obviously the economy has something to do with it as the Lender's hesitation to loan money causes a higher demand for qualified Buyers. So, it's a given that prices will drop when there are more Sellers and less Buyers.

At this point a verifiable qualified Buyer has a great deal of strength. With less Buyers, less homes will sell. Prices drop out of basic need for a sale and "voila" we have a Buyer's Market.

The question is, "will our County Taxes rise if our property values drop?"

Wait, there's more. We are all aware of the critical status of our drought. Lake Conroe may drop by 11 feet below normal level by January 2012 if the rain continues to evade us. This status is based upon the amount of allowed water acres to be drawn by The City of Houston. We are not going to deplete the lake in this amount of time as we should have a five year window allowed before it goes totally dry. But, what will happen, and has already begun to happen, is the stress and economic duress that water loss causes affects our local businesses.

All stores with gas pumps, restaurants, boat mechanics, marinas, jet ski rentals and boat rentals and basically everyone is feeling the drop in tourism.

Loss of income = Loss of value of the business.

If business values are dropping this is yet another reason our home prices may bottom out.

Oh yeah, the question is, "will our County Taxes rise if our property values drop?"

Unfortunately the answer is a resounding "maybe" with a "probably" following shortly thereafter. With property values dropping, both commercial and residential units will be paying a lower amount of tax based on value. The County will then be collecting much less than normal. The County, as most do, runs on a budget and their expenses must be met. Should the current Tax Rate not cover the needs of the County then invariably the overall Tax Rate must rise to fill in the gaps.

***Major Pep Talk!***

Let's all just keep our chins up. All is going to get better. It's going to pour down rain, businesses are going to flourish, the Feds are going to relax with the Lending laws, Buyers will come back out in groves, our property values will strengthen and we will all recoup our equity. Our lives will turn around completely and our Taxes will drop!

Now, that's optimism. Get some too. We all need it. Thanks for reading.

It's not too late to enroll in Fall Classes! Although the traditional, 16-week semester began Monday, August 29, Second Start courses are still available, with start dates beginning in September all the way through late October. Plus, students can register for these courses, which last anywhere from three to 14 weeks in length, right up to the first day of each class.

This fall, LSC-Montgomery offers Second Start courses in the following program areas:

Accounting
Art
Biology
Chemistry
Computer Information Technology
Criminal Justice
Drama
Economics
Education
Emergency Medical Services Professions
English
Government
History
Humanities
Kinesiology
Mathematics
Music
Physical Therapist Assistant
Psychology
Sociology
Spanish
Speech
Vocational Nursing

For more information, visit www.LoneStar.edu/second-start.