Virtual Real Estate Solutions : Florida

As a Virtual Assistant, former Tennessee Real Estate Agent, by choice ( that's another blog ), I work with a lot of professionals. From Home Stagers to Home Inspectors, Real Estate Agents and beyond. It is very often that I have a FSBO contact me to assist them in marketing strategies, whereas I always refer them to a Real Estate Agent. I feel working with an Agent will not only offer them better protection when selling their home but also the marketing needed to get their home sold. After speaking with the for sale by owner and offering my honest  " opinion " in the matter, they usually ask if I would be able to refer them to an Agent. In many cases because of a bad experience with another agent, I have to explain that not all agents are the same and while I understand their fears and concerns, I will only refer them to an agent that I know and trust. In many cases, that means speaking with an agent myself, that is usually found here on Active Rain, in the event I don't have a particular agent in my network that works the FSBO's current area.

Recently, I was contacted by a Seller. Referred to me by a very dear friend. After speaking with him there was no doubt that a Real Estate Agent would be able to help him, no matter the horror story I heard from him about his previous agent. In today's market, let's face it, some areas, have been hit much harder then others. I never understood the " part time agent " and/or the " abandoning agent " who takes a listing, enters it all wrong and then you never hear from them again. I certainly do not understand it even more now when so many seem to be struggling in the current market.

I immediately came to Active Rain to find an agent that I could speak with to see if they could help this seller. I made a promise to my friends friend, who has been like family to me, that I would speak with the agent directly before I gave his contact information. Keep in mind, he had a horrible experience with his previous agent and it was all I could do to convince him that he really did need a professionals help. Throughout my search I contacted 4 agents I found here on Active Rain. I was shocked that NONE of them answered their phones on a Friday and again on Saturday. As for me, I never make contact on a Sunday because I believe everyone deserves and needs a day of rest with their family. I left messages with ONLY 1 response and it's now nearly a week later. Unfortunately, the agent I spoke with couldn't help because it was not their particular area. I also emailed the other 3 agents as a friendly reminder and follow up to my voicemail messages. I briefly described the home for sale, the area and the need, who I was and who I was to the seller and kindly requested that they contact me for additional information whereas after speaking with them I would give the homeowners contact information. My way of thinking through this matter as well, is why waste anyone's time , the agents and/or the sellers if the agent didn't work their area, wasn't a listing agent etc. At the very least I thought, well if the agent cannot help, they will know someone who will and then they can receive the referral fee, as I am not.

Out of 3 emails, ONE (1) agent responded. Are you ready for this...I was informed by said agent that because I was not an Agent, they didn't need to speak with me, to forward the property address and contact information for the seller. Yep, a one liner with a closing of Thanks. Well, let me just say this Mr. High and Mighty, if you are not willing to take one simple, extra step, to speak with another professional, about a potential listing , then there is no way, maybe when pigs fly, will I give you the sellers contact information, especially when I personally know them. Really ? How hard is a 5 minute phone conversation with me to not waste anyone's time ? I might understand if this was a $50,000 listing, well, no, I wouldn't understand that level of thinking either, after all, shouldn't every listing be treated with the same respect ? It is a paycheck, right ? Luckily, for this agent, I believe in Karma and don't respond to idiocies. Therefor, I don't have to make a public display of who's more stupid, them for riding in on their high horse or me for thinking I would contact the most active agents on Active Rain instead of sticking to what I always believed in : Points Do NOT Matter !

You will be happy to know, I was able to refer this $200,000 listing to an Agent who didn't care that I wasn't a licensed agent and treated me with the respect that not only I deserve but also with the respect that the seller deserves. This just confirms that there truly are " hidden gems " in the rain.

Tips For Achieving Your Goals, Whether Short or Long Term :

Do you have long-term projects with short-term expectations? If you do, that is a sure path to frustration and failure.

Lifestyle and business goals such as exercise, healthy diet and money, more clients, etc, have to become habits in order to be effective. Career changes, changes in your business because of the market and/or economy also takes time and planning, and it doesn’t happen overnight.

Your world has shifted. There’s voice mail, e-mail, twitter, facebook, and faxes that have made a “waiting” period unacceptable and almost obsolete. With information immediately available, we expect relationships and goal achievement to be done the same, whether in business or in life. As you read this you know that it is unreasonable to expect that and yet we still do ? We’ve been led by advertisers to believe that we deserve immediate gratification, and that it is readily and effortlessly available!

When you want to train a puppy, you know that it’s going to take time and consistent reinforcement. You’re ready for that, because you want your puppy to behave in an acceptable way. Why then, are you so patient with the puppy and so hard on yourself?

When you plant seeds in the garden, you tend them, water them, hope for sunlight and nurture them. Are you nurturing yourself?

The best way to move gently and effectively towards your goals is to take a reasonable approach. Break your long-term project goal into sub-goals. Break it into doable, short-term chunks. Today prepare the soil; tomorrow plant the seeds.

Each action you take and each step is satisfying because you know that it is contributing to the completion of your goal. You cannot rush Mother Nature with your garden, and the same is true for your goals.

This process is much more than “bloom where you’re planted”, because when you’re the gardener you choose what to plant and how to nurture it. Do the same for yourself, and grow yourself beautifully. Your goals will be accomplished in due time, and you won’t end up up-tight and frazzled, which usually leads to thinking your goals cannot be obtained.

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Success Secrets Still Valid Today

Author Michael Jeffreys personally interviewed 15 top motivational gurus in 1997 for his then upcoming book. After talking to gurus from Brian Tracy to Dr. Wayne Dyer, he distilled 8 Secrets to Success they all agreed upon. These secrets are still good today and are as follows:

1. Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life – In a society where people blame everything from their parents to the government for failure, those who don’t buy into this mentality or succumb to the “victim” thinking, succeed. To blame something or somebody outside yourself is saying that they have control over your life and not you. Someone else’s opinion of you doesn’t have to become your reality.

2. Live Your Life On Purpose – What separates motivational thinkers from the unsuccessful is that they believe they’re doing what they were put here to do. The difference between this and just living, is that the latter is just getting through the week with the least amount of problems. But when you live your life on purpose and with purpose, your main concern is doing the job right, consistently thinking of quality vs quantity. For the entrepreneur this means finding a cause you believe in and building your business around it.

3. Be Willing to Pay the Price - Be willing to pay the price for your dreams. Wanting a big house, a luxury car, and a million dollars in the bank is all very nice, and everyone wants these things – but are you willing to pay the price to get them? This is one of the major differences between the successful and unsuccessful. You have been given a job to do, whatever that may be, whatever profession that may be in, no one ever said it was going to be easy.

4. Stay Focused – Every day we’re bombarded with hundreds of tasks, phone calls, messages, and everyone competing for our time. Focusing requires giving up something in the present because you are investing your time in something that will pay off big-time down the road. Jack Canfield and Mark Hanson were turned down by 30 publishers when they submitted the first “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book. Instead of giving up, they stayed focused on their goal(s) and did four or five interviews per day for radio, TV, and newspapers, for five days a week for an entire year. Eventually, a small publisher decided to take a chance, and of course now it’s a best-seller that spawned an entire series that have sold more than 10 million copies.

5. Become An Expert in Your Field One striking factor all successful people have in common is how seriously they take their profession. They strive to be the best at what they do, and do almost anything to improve. If someone followed you around all day with a video camera at your business, would it be a tape you’d be proud of or embarrassed about? Make the decision today to work at being the best in your field. How? By finding out what the “best” in your field are doing, and do what they do while separating yourself from the rest.

6. Write Out a Plan for Achieving Your Goals – Write out an action plan/map, heck, make a dream board if you need to, for how you’re going to achieve your goals. Trying to reach your goals without a plan is like trying to drive from Los Angeles to Chicago without a map. A goal that isn’t written down is merely a wish or fantasy.


7. Never Give Up - Never, never, never give up, no matter what factors or circumstances head your way. When you’re fully committed to achieving your goal, giving up is not an option. You must be willing do whatever it takes to make it happen. The power of perseverance is an awesome force. As someone once said, “inch by inch it’s a cinch”. Think of the lowly inchworm – if it pondered the length of the trip from start to finish before it started, it probably would never move. To a worm’s point-of-view, the garden path must look like a trip to Mars. Keep on going like the EverReady battery bunny, we so often call ourselves and pretty soon you’re there.

8. Don’t Delay – Nobody knows how much time they have left to accomplish their dreams, and we must remember that we don’t have forever. The clock is ticking, and sooner or later your number comes up and you’re gone. Successful achievers know this too, but they don’t view it as a “negative”. Achievers use it to “spur them on”. They go after what they want as energetically and as passionately as possible, for as long as they have.

“Today is a check – cash it! Yesterday is an I.O.U. – forget it! Tomorrow is a promissory note, don’t bank on it!” I think that’s a pretty good summation of life, so go out there and cash in on that “today” check.

38 Random Acts of Kindness - Balloons to Heaven !

This year, so many people that I hold dear to my heart, have taught me more than they could ever imagine, through their strength and their loved ones. So many have had to endure what no person ever should. From parents, grandparents, brothers, sister, aunts and uncles, losing a loved one, to friends who have lost their courageous fight to cancer and other illnesses.  Having lost many loved ones in my life, I know the hole and void it can leave in your heart. Although, I cannot ever imagine what some of my friends have gone through this past year, I wanted them to know that there is not a moment in the day that I don't think of them. no matter how busy life can get. That there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of the struggles they have had to endure and that mightily I continue to pray. Praying for peace, understanding, comfort and joy to be brought to their lives. Although the miles and the waters may separate us - I would like to think a bridge has been built - from - heart to heart.

What can you say or really do in such moments of adversity ? There are never enough right words to say that can ease the pain. There is nothing you can say or do when someone you love fights the good fight and only seems to lose the battle anyway, although not the war. We love, we lose - no matter how unnatural the order of things may seem. Some people come into our lives only for a moment, while others can be with us for years. I'd like to think that no one is ever really gone.That we are all Angels and some of us are just called home sooner than others.

In this life we are and can be taught so much by others, if only we open our hearts and minds. No matter the age - there is something to learn from everyone. A baby, someone's son or daughter, can teach us innocence and purity. With every breath they take they can breath so much life into a person. The innocence of a child teaches us that we can do and be anything if only we believe. The purity of a child brings us unmatched, unconditional love that remains forever in our hearts no matter how long they get to share those milestones with us. Without expecting anything in return, they give us joy and hope for the future. While the mature one teaches us courage, strength and perseverance. No matter their life struggles, they become fighters until the very end, teaching us that life and love are worth fighting for. Courageously they climb the highest of mountains - with no fear of falling and they persevere to the top, waving, loving, smiling all the way there.

So many have taught me so many things about life. I watch the faith of others and stand in awe. That they could face the most difficult time in their lives and still know that the God they love and serve is not a mean God. That the God they serve through it all loves them and is and will continue to bring them peace and comfort. That no matter their struggles there is HOPE. Something that many of us forget and all to often take for granted.There is a lot to be learned and said of someone's great faith and I continue to learn from them.

Today, it's my turn to give back because so much has been given to me.

The Caulk Family - Have taught me so much about love, faith and family. Through all of their struggles they never forget who they are. I love them all.

The Baker - Sodero Family - Their beautiful son taught me about innocence and how big things do come in such small packages. Love You Al and Desiree.

Sharon Young - Taught the true meaning of living life to the fullest and no matter what hand you are dealt, you still just live and love. RIP Dear one.

Joe Ferrara - Taught me what it means to be a great teacher - in life and in business. Thank You Joe, forever in our hearts.

Clint Miller and Family - This family has taught me courage. Courage to face things head on. To know that it's okay to be tired but never to be scared. Our thought and prayers are with you always.

So many, have taught me such beautiful things. I thank God for all of them and I thank God that I have had the chance to know them and love them.

So, I, we, sent balloons to Heaven. In honor of our friends and their loved ones who passed away because they are ALL special to me.

38 Random Acts of Kindness, it's my birthday present to myself : http://www.aserendipityworld.com/2011/11/38-random-acts-of-kindness.html

Special thanks for Midori Miller, Jeanette Neerpat, Vicky Wyman for joinging me in 38 Random Acts of Kindness. To my neighbor for helping me shoot my video, lending me the beer and allowing me to spew it all over her porch. You all ROCK !

See Jeannette here : http://browardcountyreview.com/2011/11/happy-thanksgiving-from-our-family-to-yours/

See Vickie here :  http://blog.allaccessre.com/2011/11/23/random-acts-of-kindness-pay-it-forward-day-two/