Chickenhawk Scratchings

I only recently started using Facebook.com (about three weeks ago or so), and I have been having some fun.  My intent was to start linking up with agents from across the country to create referral relationships.  I quickly started using it for more, though.  I began keeping in touch with people from my sphere of influence who had accounts there, and I started making new acquaintences in the local area from outside of real estate.

Do any of you have any success stories from using Facebook?  Has it worked as a networking tool, or has it just been a waste of time?  I'm assuming that it's like most tools - only as good as the operator.

I'm going to keep using it.  I have reconnected with past friends that I hadn't heard from in years, and I'm enjoying the networking... but I wonder how serious I should be in using it.

Thanks for your input!

I had an interesting discussion a few days ago with my mastermind group about out of town buyers.  We all felt that some buyers who came from out of state were trying to take out their frustration with their home market on the local sellers.

Here's what I mean:  Let's say someone lives in Florida, and wants to sell in order to move to South Carolina.  The market in most of Florida is in the toilet right now, and they might lose quite a bit if they had recently purchased their home.  Now, the buyer comes to find their new home in SC, and they have a mental block that causes them to try and get the same deal on a home here that they had to live with as a seller there.

The only problem with that is that the market here is doing pretty well.  We don't have the big downturn that many markets across the country have faced.  Our median price is up, and though the number of available units is up as well, it's not a staggering amount.

What do you think?  Have you found any similar situations?  Have any buyers who are trying to get a steal in a market that isn't going to be stolen?  Are they taking out their frustrations on your local sellers?

Just curious!

My family loves me.  They need me a heck of a lot more than they need my commission check.  So why would I do things that might take chances with my safety?

Unfortunately, there are agents all over this country that do crazy things and don't even realize it.  When an agent meets a prospect at a property without meeting them at their office first, that agent is taking a chance with their safety.

When an agent fails to tell one of their co-workers, or their spouse, or their parent, or their significant other when and where they are showing property, along with who they're showing it to, they are taking a chance with their safety.

I practically preach on this topic, day in and day out, but agents just don't seem to get it.  Even after attending one of our safety seminars, agents continue to do this behavior.

Why is it so difficult to think safely first, and monetarily second?  Studies have shown time after time that you don't lose buyers by meeting them at the office first (at least buyers who are actually serious).

Think about what you do.  I don't ask people to live in fear - the opposite, in fact.  What I DO ask is that you keep these thoughts in the back of your mind, where they will cause you to be careful as you act in your business life.

Be safe.

Tonight is the end.

It's the final act.  The final curtain.  The applause will die down, and it will all be over.

Literally!

Yes, tonight is my final performance for Fiddler on the Roof at the Greenville Little Theatre, and I have mixed emotions.  On one hand, it's going to be great getting my evenings and weekends back.  On the other, I have had a BLAST!  This has been the BEST show I've ever been lucky enough to be a part of, and I know that I won't forget it easily.

The friendships I have created and the moments that have occurred are awesome, and it will be a while before I find something that I enjoy as much as this.  I hope to keep in touch with all of my new friends, and perhaps even do another show with some of them if I can go for a fifth play.

The curtain lowers, but perhaps it's not the end - just the beginning of a new show!