Myrtle Beach Real Estate by Mirela

This has nothing to do with Real Estate.  I had a full day of flying on Tuesday, and immediately upon my return, I came down with a nasty virus.  I haven't been this sick in 20 years.  Several people have told me that they came down with a similar illness immediately after flying.  My mom believes that the airlines don't concern themselves with the air quality inside planes.  Every flight I took was booked solid.  With so many bodies in such a tight space, it would make sense that air quality would suffer, especially if the filtration systems have been neglected.  Just curious if any of you have had a similar experience with becoming ill right after flying.  Please share!

I couldn't resist bringing some of my favorite posts back out for a re-run.

Funny Lessons for New Agents and Agents who want to infuse new energy into their Real Estate Practice:  http://activerain.com/blogsview/248194/1-BAD-HABITS-TO

Funny Closing Gifts for that Special Client:  http://activerain.com/blogsview/250878/12-Closing-Gifts-In

You Can't Be A Little Bit Pregnant:  http://activerain.com/blogsview/229665/You-can-t-be

Great Marketing Tips:  http://activerain.com/blogsview/276699/READ-THIS-MAKE-A

Never Lose a Listing:  http://activerain.com/blogsview/250410/No-simply-means-Not

Enjoy!

PS:  Let me know which one is your favorite!

When was the last time you picked up a tennis racket? 

How about riding a bike (not a Harley, but a bicycle, the one where you actually expend some energy).

When was the last time you jogged, walked fast, or climbed several flights of stairs? 

Can't remember when? 

Exactly!  That's my point!

Stop reading this right now and do some stretches!  Close your eyes, roll your head, your shoulders.  Concentrate on your breathing!  Ahh...  it's nice detangling your body, isn't it?

Congratulations!  You have just embarked on your new exercise program!  Today you put in one minute, tomorrow you will do two.  You'll jog three houses tomorrow, but by next month you'll go around the block.  You will do one extra mailbox every day. 

In the age of the "Extreme Make-over", too many people delay exercising because they don't have the time to dedicate to it.  You don't need time.  Just do it!  Start right now!

The other day I arrived at the gym 15 minutes before closing time (my jog on the beach took too long, because it was too enchanting outside).  Everyone seemed a little perplexed: "didn't I know they were closing in 15 minutes", they asked.  "Yes, but 15 minutes of exercise is better than no minutes", I answered.  They couldn't argue with that. 

So get out there and practice your safe sets!  In essence, you are buying health insurance for the rest of your life!

I actually called one of my competitors for no other reason than to compliment her on her modus operandi.

I was pulling October statistics for my area.  I like doing it the long way, not the spoon fed way:  I actually get into the history of an address and see if what appears under that listing number is the whole story.  Many times I find that the property has been on the market for many more months than that particular listing number reveals.   For example one property appeared to have sold within 86 days.  When I pulled the history of the property I found that it had been listed with several other agencies, and it actually took 585 days to sell, instead of the disclosed 86 days.  It also had a 28.92% price drop between the original listing price in 2006 and the price it actually sold for a couple of weeks ago.

I noticed that this particular agent had the good habit of adjusting the price down every 2-4 weeks until the property sold.  She had several listings sold that way in October.  In this market, that is a good habit to get into... 

A day later, one of my agents showed one of this agent's listings.  I was impressed by her prompt response to my agent's showing.  It came by e-mail and said:  "Annie,  Thank you for taking your buyers to see my listing below.  I shared your feedback with my seller yesterday after I spoke with you briefly.  Since then, my seller has agreed to offer a $500 Selling Bonus to the selling agent!  ...let's face it...times are tough!  Just thought this might give you a little more of a reason to get their parents in to see this fine home.  By the way, feel free to share with them that this is one of the last remaining few lots that will have a NEW construction on the Golf Course!  The other homes in Colonial Charters that are backing up to the new signature course have some years on them.  Good luck and I hope to be hearing from you soon!"  WOW!!!  This agent stays right on top of it!

  You can understand why I couldn't abstain from calling her and complimenting her on her stellar performance.   She was floored; then she paid me a high compliment.  She said:  "Wow!  Coming from you, Mirela, this means a lot to me!"  We talked for several minutes after that and she shared with me a few more valuable tips. 

Competitor or not, I'm proud of sharing this business with agents like her! 

LESS ALCOHOL                MORE TEA

LESS MEAT                MORE VEGETABLES

LESS SALT                         MORE VINEGAR

LESS SUGAR                       MORE FRUIT

LESS EATING                      MORE CHEWING

LESS WORDS                       MORE ACTION

LESS GREED                        MORE GIVING

LESS WORRY                      MORE SLEEP

LESS DRIVING                    MORE WALKING

LESS ANGER                       MORE LAUGHTER

Myrtle Beach Real Estate by Mirela Monte                            Join The Optimist Group!

Sales Price:                                        Nr. Of Homes sold In that Price Range:

$ 1 - $ 199,999                                 1

$ 200,000 - $ 299,999                      2

$ 300,000 - $ 399,999                      7

$ 400,000 - $ 499,999                      3

$ 500,000 - $ 599,999                      2

$ 600,000 - $ 699,999                      2

Total Homes Sold:                         17

 The average price reduction (the difference between the original price and the final sales price expressed as a percentage of the original price) was 12.37%.

The average time on the market was 205 days, or roughly 7 months.

The longest time on the market was 585 days, or roughly one year and seven months.   The highest price reduction coincided with the longest time on the market (same property), and stood at 28.92%.  This so adequately exemplifies that incorrect pricing can be quite costly.  If you add to the mix the one year and seven months of Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance and HOA fees, this was a very expensive endeavor for the Seller.  Greed is very costly indeed!!!  The moral of the story is:  Price your listings correctly, for the sake of your Sellers!  

Looking over the sales statistics, I noticed that savvy agents insisted on regular price decreases about every 2-4 weeks, until the home was sold.

1.  Wow, this site lets you infuse some greatness into your website and your flyers:   http://www.slide.com/

•2.     Perfect closing gift.  Make a coffee table book of the neighborhood, the home, your clients' family:  http://www.winkflash.com/PHOTO/books.asp

•3.     Advertising paraphernalia on a shoestring:  http://www.winkflash.com/photo/gifts.asp

•4.     Put your face on the stamps on all your mail.  Why not?  It doesn't cost you any more than buying a generic one at the post office.  Go to http://photo.stamps.com/Store/?source=si00001331

•5.     Send out "Just Sold" cards immediately after closing.  Order the cards about a week before the scheduled closing and send them out twice.  They are the best vehicle for garnering new listings.  http://www.sellsmart.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/SellSmart.woa/26/wa/gotoProduct?styleNumber=REPC6880D2&wosid=Pr4000V700090200bY3

•6.     Put this on your website and increase your rate of visitor return.  You just plug in an address, and it gives you a "walkability" score based on the property's proximity to supermarkets, restaurants, bars, shops, schools, etc.  It is entertaining and educational.  A huge winner!  http://www.walkscore.com/

Have fun!  Be the best you can be!

Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection, Mirela Monte

www.MyrtleBeachHomes.US

The Media is not the culprit...   The Ostrich Syndrome in full swing...  Your opinion please!

A lot has been written about the media giving us too much bad news.  As an immigrant from a communist country, I have extraordinary appreciation for the media of the free world. 

Our economy is what it is.  The intrepid agents will find ways to cope with the current market conditions.  I have seen a lot of amazing recipes for success on this very site, and I am immensely thankful for this remarkable world of ActiveRain. 

Some have suggested that we should refute the media consensus.  Why?  All they do is report the truth.  I knew the market was tanking way before the media picked up on it, and my investors all benefited from that insight.  Good agents will find a way to navigate these uncertain seas with unique new services, products and marketing innovations.  The same old things don't work anymore.  Inserting a listing into the MLS no longer gets much of a result; the listing gets buried in a deluge of other properties.   

What an exciting time this is!!!   You actually have to work your listings...  You have to learn new things.  Invent new ways!  Observe!  Learn!  Grow!  Be creative!  Network!  Study!  Embrace new ways!  Grow technologically!  Educate yourself!

  A down market is a great thing for the savvy investor!   Make the best of it!  By the time the media catches on to the market swinging upwards, it's already too late.  Buy while the market is still moving down.  As long as you are buying on the downturn, you will do well.  Don't wait to see signs of the upturn, for it will be too late... 

The "herd mentality" brought prices to unrealistic new levels in many hot areas of the country.  The same areas are now hurting in a unique, new way...  Learn from that!  Train your Buyers!  Donald Trump is buying, why shouldn't you?

What a great time for buying Real Estate this is!!!   So, shut up and sell!  ...But do tell me what you are doing differently that works for you in this market!

Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection, Mirela Monte

www.MyrtleBeachHomes.us

I come from a long chain of strong women.  As a child I loved listening to stories about all these extraordinary women I descended from.  The great things they accomplished, the many obstacles they overcame.  Hard times in Transylvania and Moldavia...two world wars ravaged the land, but not the souls of its people...

I learnt from a mother who took matters into her own hands and defected out of Communist Romania.  She single handedly took care of my ill father while working three jobs, and later opening a string of successful businesses.  With mom, anything was possible.  Great dreams, little dreams, they were all achievable. 

Her mother is now 95.  Although her body is feeble (she is a little over 4.5 ft. tall & shrinking) but her mind is still sharp.  She forgets how many times I was married (maybe I should too!!!), but she remembers the important stuff and she still says the right things and asks the right questions.  She has a zest for life and she wants to at least stay alive to see my daughter get married.  My daughter is only 14, so grandma has some ambitious dreams...

How does one live this long and stay so well?   Here are some potential reasons why:

•1.     Grandma always has a kind word for everybody.  She loves everyone and everyone loves her.

•2.     If she doesn't have anything good to say about someone, she just doesn't say anything at all.  If anyone talks badly about someone, she just waves her arm in the air gesturing: "Basta!  Just let it be!  Let's move on to another subject..."

•3.     Grandma always believes that good things are about to happen.  An incurable optimist, she always has hope in her heart.

•4.     Grandma is proud!   Her husband died when she was only 29 years old.  He left her with a two year old baby (my mother), and a lot of debt.  Grandma was stunningly beautiful.  Petite, and well endowed, with thick, black hair, a flawless complexion and the most amazingly green eyes, she was a beauty indeed.  She had several wealthy men offer her an easy existence by being a kept woman, but she summarily refused them.  She was insulted by their proposals, and instead, she chose to do hard labor in the factory during the daytime, and unload coal in the evening (she only had a fourth grade education, having come from a poor, farming family).  She paid off my grandfather's debt, and raised my mother all by herself, never remarrying again.  She never dated until she was in her sixties, and finally found a man she fell in love with.

•5.     Grandma is grateful.  She thanks God every day for being alive.  She thanks people for the smallest of things.  They just want to keep doing things for her, because she notices and is so grateful.  I guess that's how God sees it too...

I'll write another blog about Grandma when she turns 100.  Stay tuned!

Four Generations of Women: My Daughter, My Grandmother, My Sister and My Mom, the most important Females in my life.  My other most important person, My Son, Alex, was taking the picture.

Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection, Mirela Monte

www.MyrtleBeachHomes.US

Single Family Homes

Available for sale:                   6,360

Sold during October:              287

4.51% sold during October.  At this rate, we'll need over 22 months to sell out of our current inventory of listings.           

Condos

Available for sale:                   8,840

Sold during October:              362

4.10% of the condos were sold during October.  At this rate, we'll need over 2 years to exhaust our condo inventory.

Land

Available for sale:                   5,670

Sold during October:              72

1.27% of our land inventory was sold during the month of October.  At this rate, we'll need over six and a half years to exhaust the existing inventory.

Multi-Family

Available for sale:                   147

Sold during October:              4

2.72% of our multi family inventory was sold during October.  At this rate, we'll need over 3 years to sell out of the existing inventory.

Commercial Real Estate

Available for sale:                   688

Sold during October               6

.87% (yes, not even 1%!!!) of the commercial inventory sold during October.  At this rate, we'll need over 9.5 years to deplete the existing inventory!!!

Donald Trump is buying now!  All the wise investors are out making offers.  Why not you?

Do you remember that episode of "I Love Lucy", where she works in the chocolate factory and the candy assembly line starts moving faster and faster, while she tries to cope with it by stuffing the bonbons in her mouth and her clothes?  That was me a few weeks ago.  

When your personal life is in the dumpster, it seems so much harder to cope with it all.   In this business I am a solution finder.  I navigate the sea of problems on a daily basis and I am good at it.  I didn't realize how difficult it would be dealing with other people's problems while your own life is spinning out of control... 

I'm done licking my wounds, and I'm back at work in full force.  I appreciate my team more than ever!  What great people I have!  I am in awe of them!  I am thankful for the systems I put in place, which kept the business on cruise control... 

The moral of the story is this:  if you have not put systems into place, take December & January to do so.  If you become ill, or just emotionally drained, what will happen to your business?   Teach your team members how to become self sufficient and encourage them to rely on each other and help each other out.  The cohesiveness and success of the team should always be the focus, it should be at the core of your mentoring and one of your mission statements.   Take it from me: you can not afford not to...