Leesburg, VA

When we moved to Leesburg, no one told us how different Halloween would be. Here, on "All Hallowed Eve", children dress in their costumes, lining the streets of downtown Leesburg, to collect treats thrown to them from passing parade floats. The parade is put on by the local Kiwanis club, and this year, everyone in attendance was asked to bring a canned food item to help fill our local food banks. Most floats are sponsored by local businesses, who are having a little fun promoting their business and giving back to the communities they serve.

I'm told that the Leesburg Halloween parade is the longest running in the country, which I think is kind of neat. I love to see old traditions remain strong. Here in Leesburg, I see no danger of this tradition ever going out of style. Every Halloween, if you live in Leesburg, you go the parade. EVERYone's there. You're IN the parade or AT the parade, but you're there. Now that we've been here 8 years, we're finally getting the hang of it.

In fact, the last 2 years, I've been IN the parade; on a float with my brokerage office, Keller Williams Realty of Leesburg. Last year, I drove our float - and it was among the most frightening halloween experiences I've ever had! You try driving a float while dodging 5 year olds who are playing chicken with your truck to get a Reese's!

This year, I opted to walk along side the float, giving out candy, being careful to reward those children that obediently stood by their moms, despite the greatest of temptations. So, did you see us? What did you think? We didn't win any awards... but we thought it looked great.
Can you believe our broker (Rick Cockrill) actually had these houses "lying around" as leftovers from a 4-H project he'd done with his son? It was a very easy assembly for us... and special thanks to local J & M Market on Rt 15 (think Pumpkinville) who donated all pumpkins, mums, corn stalks and more. This year, our float was promoting a new web site launched by own of our very tech savvy agents, Steve Lieby. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out... http://www.callloudouncountyhome.com/.

I can not imagine how cool it would have been to have this parade experience as a child. My 2 and 5 year olds left the scene with bags FULL! Pre-teens and teenagers can still get candy without being those annoying kids without costumes at your door on Halloween. I think it's fabulous.
By the time we returned home, two year old Spiderman was done for the night. Hanna Montana, on the other hand, had to take to the streets to see her fans. Lucky for her, trick or treating in Leesburg starts AFTER the parade. Lucky for me, it doesn't last long.

Sell thyself: Many buyers like to search for homes traditionally by still looking at newspapers, and home magazine ads; don't get me wrong. My colleague says the web is so impersonal. It doesn't inspire people. This is why many agents do not pursue to have a deeper web presence other then a website which is most often offered free by their real estate offices. It seems to me that we are all blending together. "We, as the community of real estate agents, need to use the web to our advantage."

I recently got a wake up call on how important it is that I pursue making a presence on the web. I started my first blog on Active Rain earlier this year but then I did not know the internet is the way to go until recently. I got my first customer off the web and not through the desk, farming, or expensive newspaper ad. $500 for a ½ of a page! Ouch!

Rather than running expensive ads in the local paper, take advantage of the internet, and use the free stuff seriously to advertise you with the house. It does work. The internet is convenient, easy to use and available 24/7 for your advertising.

The customer that recently found me on the internet told me that "It's easier," she said. "I can get on the internet and search for properties on line quick," rather then call somebody. She found me on the internet at 11pm.

We have to change the way we think and about how we should do our business. I am being frugal these days.

Do you agree?

On Halloween night, I lost my keys. I was in the Leesburg Parade, and was convinced I had lost them somewhere along the parade route. After days of trying to find them, I finally resolved myself to the thought that they were gone forever. I was thinking of the hassle and money it would cost to replace those silly fobs and tokens, car remotes, changing the locks on my house...ugh.

This morning, my husband came back from taking my daughter to the bus stop, and he had a notice in his hand. It was a posting about a set of keys that had been found. Even though I was convinced that the keys had not been lost in my own neighborhood, I called. Sure enough, a neighbor had my keys! Coincidentally, it was the neighbor that moved into a house on the other end of my street, one I sold just a few months ago. In talking to her, she said she had newspaper ads coming out this week... she was so worried about returning those keys to the rightful owner (who she assumed was a stranger). Knowing what is involved with losing a set of keys like that, she was determined to find the rightful owner. Wow, these are the kinds of neighbors you want.

I was really touched... you simply don't see people taking that much time to worry about a stranger. Yet again today, I had another reason to be thankful for the people that touch my life.

It reminded me of our first weekend in this neighborhood, 8 years ago. We didn't have cable hooked up yet, so we had rented movies from Blockbuster. Apparently, while getting the kids in the car to run errands, my husband placed the movies on the top of the SUV, and forgot them. When he drove away, they fell into the street behind him. After getting to Blockbusters, and realizing he didn't have the movies, he was confused. He returned to the house to search high and low for the now missing movies(and, remember, we'd just moved, so the house was total chaos). He found them nowhere. Retracing his steps, we realized he must have left them on the top of the SUV, but they were gone now. On Monday, my husband went to Blockbuster with his tail between his legs to beg forgiveness and pay the fine. Imagine our surprise when he was told someone had returned them, and on time! (This was amazing because in those days, the movies had to be returned by noon to be "on time" and we didn't leave the house until 11 that morning.) A random person, a stranger to us then (years later we found out who it was), had gone out of their way to return the movies on our behalf.

In the 8 years we've lived here, many such episodes have occurred. And, yet, when I am selling homes in my very own neighborhood, I've yet to figure out how to truly convey to people that, somehow, we here in Ashton Downs live in a sort of oasis,

Everyone - and I mean EVERYONE here is just good. They're the kind of neighbors you want. How can you put that into a property brochure or explain it to a buyer? I still haven't found the right approach, but I am trying.

I am a fan of Brian Buffini and I have been with him for the past year and half. I kind of get excited when I receive his box of goodies each month because it gives me a system to work with so I can generate business. Phones have been dead so I have to do this. I am working full time in this business so I need to provide for my family. It is frustrating to be paid on commission but it is also rewarding when you help someone get in to their new home by thanking you for the services you provide. I used to be a tour guide for the first part of my career life so this is kind of similar. You show homes, you build a relationship and you get paid for it.

I pop by and meet people. At first it was hard because I felt awkward by starting conversations with people I did not know to talk with them about real estate. I wear my name tag and people notice it and ask me about what it is new because it is a hot subject these days. I get his box of goodies each month so I start with sending personal notes to new people I meet, my database, and my sphere of influence. The notes are short but it shows how much I care for them because they are and will contribute to my success as an agent by referring their friends and families to me. I receive this motivational CD from Brian recorded from his turning points so I listen to it when I driving it get me going.

They also send me 100 the CAP letters and I can customize my cover letter from their website so it makes my job easier. All I have to do is cut and paste it into a word document and print them to go with my colorful brochure. It looks very professional. So far I have gotten two rental and two buyer referrals.

It is a good life!

I have been working with these first time home buyers for a while. They appear motivated and serious. We have seen around 50+ homes together and wrote on three banked owned properties and none were ratified until recently. I was very excited for them when the bank agreed to our very aggressive offer and they were so pleased when they heard the news so what happened!

I have been calling them for the past two days because I have to get the bank addendums signed by them but they are answering my calls.