My Bailout

In today's news we hear day in and day out about the bailouts. First the banks and now the automakers, among others. In real estate, we are faced daily with the experience of working with good people who were sucked into this crazy frenzy of buying homes at ever-increasing prices. They often used liberal lending tools to do so and are now faced with foreclosure and/or short sales. Many of these people are good, hard working citizens who, up to now, have had impeccable credit and long-standing employment. Some have just had bad luck. They bought at the peak of the market and now, due to job transfers or lay offs or whatever, they must sell. Yet they have zero equity or are upside down on their mortgage. They did nothing wrong necessarily - they just simply had poor timing. There are other stories too of outright abuses of lending and money management but let's not forget those people who truly were victims of the "system" that the government is now "bailing out."

It is unfortunate that many people freely lump these folks into one category as "irresponsible" without understanding all the dynamics that came into play in the last few years.

We as Americans have grown up in a culture where credit uses and abuses are commonplace. Need something big? Finance it. Taking a trip? Charge it. But this situation that we find ourselves in today affects even the most conservative of Americans who didn't do those things - who paid cash for trips and goods but simply financed their homes and now find themselves in financial peril. Many of these people did so with little or nothing down but we in the real estate and mortgage industry ushered them through the process with a smile and pat on the back for the great investment they were making. We ourselves believed that to be true!

It is also apparent that many of us in the real estate and lending industry have ourselves fallen upon hard financial times. Our losses don't show up in the unemployment rates or in the job loss statistics - our income just simply dries up. I have seen many a seasoned professional either leave the business after many years or, at the very least, thought about it seriously.

But there is no real estate agent or mortgage lender bailout coming this way - even though licensed real estate agents accounted for 1.2 million Americans in 2006. Yes that's just too many real estate people and many of those SHOULD leave the business. But it leaves those who are in this career field with some hard choices - quit or find a way to fight through the challenges and make it work. There is no free lunch on the horizon.

I don't have the answers to our current economic crisis but each of us in the real estate biz is in one way or another facing our own personal crisis. Our business has been permanently altered. As a result, we must change too and formulate a plan to conduct ourselves as professionals in light of these changes and yet continue to make a living.

So I have decided to come up with my own "bailout plan." If you have read previous blogs then you are probably aware of my search for motivation and meaning in my work and daily life. I still continue to work on those things but in these serious times I believe that we must also focus on our "survival plan." Brian Buffini stated at his Turning Point Retreat that Success in 2009 is simply Staying in Business.

I have elected to stay in business. I want to help my fellow agents also stay in business - those who want to and who seek the best way to continue to effectively serve our clients while also having food with their meals! I see a few simple truths at this point:

1. Things are never and will never be like they used to be. The long-term experienced agents whom I see leaving the business are those that in many cases have been waiting for things to go "back to normal." I do not believe that our "normal" will ever be what it used to be. This is a new economic climate with an uncertain future and we cannot afford to sit and wait to see how it will all pan out. We need to dive in and understand the needs of this new age of client and what resources we can offer them in this financially challenging time.

2. The Internet has permanently impacted the real estate business in such a way that the traditional value of an agent finding a home or advertising a home is no longer the value we represent. The customer can put their own home on the MLS in very easy and inexpensive ways and has access to finding properties freely through the Internet. We need to truly understand our own value and unique selling points in this new age of real estate and lending. Bottom line: we need to add value and communicate it to the client. We no longer have a monopoly on information.

3. The idea that investing in property is a safe and sure bet for a return on your investment is no longer valid. People who are buying now do so because they NEED a house or they are investing for rental income in the long term. We need to better understand how we serve the needs of these buyers and how to serve those sellers who are upside down in their equity proposition. Essentially, we need to become experts not simply door openers and photographers for posting listings on the MLS. This is the age of the professional and wow it's a lot of hard work!

4. Agents need to pull together to share resources, better educate one another, understand the techniques to employ and the resources to rely on to serve today's client best. Let's eliminate posturing and poor business practices that have plagued us in the past. We need to pull together as a community of professionals and re-learn our craft in the best way we can. Sharing of resources, understanding the impacts of the Internet and adjusting our business to this marketplace are just a few of the items we need to consider doing now.

So I ask all of you now to begin crafting your bailout plan too - your success map for staying in business in 2009. Please share your ideas with me and I will share them with others in a future blog or e-mail. Get involved in your REALTOR Associations who lobby for us on Capital Hill, educate yourselves and stay in close contact with positive-minded associates who are really working on being successful and serving their clients well rather than rubbing elbows with those who find it easier to complain and justify their demise.

I have a dream! A dream that the real estate industry will come out of this crisis stronger and with a much more professional impact on our clients than the previous used car salesman opinion that many have had of our industry. I believe that we can accomplish that but only by actually stepping up to the plate as an industry and making the necessary changes. We need to increase our standards for licensure, have better education requirements and take personal responsibility for how we become true experts in our industry to name a few.

My bailout plan is in the works and I would love your input. Please share your thoughts too. May success and happiness be yours in 2009!

Mastering Motivation

How long do you spend each day getting ready for work? 30 minutes? An hour? And how much time do you spend each day grooming your emotional and spiritual health? If you're like me, your outer appearance may be getting a disproportionate amount of attention.

In my recent quest to discover what really motivates me so that I might try to focus my energies on goal setting, I have made some rather simple but important discoveries. First of all, I think motivation and thereafter goal setting is not an event that should be completed once or even once in a while, but rather a daily exercise to focus your mental energies & activities on the things that are most important to you.

I had some trouble lately figuring out what those things were - particularly in relation to my business goals. Not wanting to simply set an empty financial goal that had no meaning behind it, I sought a method to find true meaning in my work & life pursuits beyond what I have done in the past. I wasn't sure where to turn so, as mentioned in my previous blog, I just decided to "sit and wait at that crossroad and see what would come to me." Wow was I surprised! Things started to arrive in many different forms. Messages from friends and associates who were either sharing the same kind of experience (thank goodness I am not alone in this quandary!) or messages with words of wisdom or advice. I drank it in and thought about all that was generously given and about the network of friends that bolster us through tougher times and make the good times so much more enjoyable.

I checked into the suggested reading they offered and also found a few resources on my own as well. Some of those which have been immensely helpful include:

The Bible (good stuff!)

The Secret (watched the DVD again with two people who had never experienced it & with my daughter - we all had a lively and wonderful discussion about it)

Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill (really puts money in perspective particularly if you have a limited mindset about it)

Smart Talk by Lou Tice - always a favorite for positive thinking techniques

Prayer...that stuff works! Who knew! ;-)

Additionally, there have been many other interesting sources on the Internet for goal setting and motivation. Because of all this, I have ended up accidentally forming something of a daily ritual of working on my "inner self" more than the time spent in front of the mirror each day. The investment has been worthwhile.

While I haven't found the absolute meaning to life yet I have found that there is much joy in the daily exercise of pursuing higher goals and bettering yourself. The more information you gain, the more your motivations and goals become clear. Being open-minded to the discoveries you make is important.

Last Monday & Tuesday I attended a Turning Point Retreat with my business coaching company (Buffini & Company). I knew from past experience that there would be a section of one day dedicated to goal setting. I was dreading it with the the fear that I wouldn't be able to come up with any goals. To make matters worse, they added a section wherein you are to list rewards and celebrations for accomplishing those goals. At first glance, I was not feeling too skilled at this exercise.

But the messages, the books, the prayer, the study and the time spent each day just thinking about what motivates me & what's important in life culminated in a very productive experience with the goal setting and rewards exercise! I have some new goals now and subsequent rewards that make the work that's required to get there seem worthwhile. Thanks to Debra, my good friend, I am also going to take the items from the rewards list and build a vision board - a daily visual reminder of what it is I am working towards.

But the biggest gem from the whole exercise is the realization that the daily habit of working on your inner well being is the key. Having a positive mindset, keeping things in perspective, reflecting on your goals and motivations daily and having an attitude of gratitude & expressing it to those around you is a powerful collective experience when done in daily bite-sized pieces. Not every day is great but you can much more quickly pull yourself out from the rubble of a bad day with strength of these tools and exercises. I also realized that I don't have to figure it all out right now.

So in the spirit of gratitude, I want to thank all of you who responded privately and openly to the last blog entry and shared your thoughts and experiences with me. I am thankful for you and your insights and especially for your friendship. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!


P.S. I have sprinkled just a few of my vision board pieces in this blog just for fun. These are some of my "less profound" goals. It's fun to dream!

Sitting at A Crossroad

Did you ever find yourself in a situation wherein motivation is absolutely required in order to accomplish a task or to reach a goal but it seemed to be the last thing you could muster? In my recent move across the country, I have realized the importance of goal setting and especially motivation. I was very clear on the goal: get to Maryland before the school year started. The tasks that needed to be accomplished to get there then became obvious (and daunting) and I had a very deep motivation. Thus the goal was somehow achieved despite many obstacles. Looking back on it all is exhausting but it amazes me how much can be accomplished when we are motivated and have clear goals with deadlines.

Throughout my life, I have found it easy to set goals. Being a "spectrum-global" thinker (as my Heritage Profile from my coaching company suggests) it is supposedly easy for me to set goals that are years into the future. A 5-year goal for example has always been a comfortable time frame for me to think about. I have found that goals are the road map to your future - set them and then your subconscious seems to drive you down that road even when you are not thinking. I suppose this is "The Law of Attraction" at work. Now I am going to sound rather "old" here but life offers us some pretty clear future goals when we are younger. Obviously, going to college, getting a degree, getting a good job, making a certain amount of money, having a family, buying a home are all common goals. But once you have accomplished those kinds of goals, then what do you do?

Through this recent change in my life, I have come to clearly understand that motivation is really the FIRST step in the goal setting exercise. What do we want out of life? What's important to us?

So what happens when you can't decide or discern what motivates you anymore? What then? How do you set goals? How do you create your road map? Where do you focus your time and energies?

This is where I find myself now. Having uprooted myself and my daughter and traversed the country to re-plant ourselves in Maryland has been an experience something like cleaning off a very cluttered desk that was piled with work that you thought would have lasted a lifetime but now it's suddenly all gone. All that stuff that you thought was so important and so complicated was suddenly swept away and in its place - a blank slate is staring back at you. A fresh start...what do you do with it? Before I re-clutter that desk I would really like to think about this. On what do I really want to spend my life? Where should I intentionally spend my time?

This is the first time in my career (and perhaps in my life) where I find it difficult to figure out what goals to strive for - which path to choose. With my "desk" now clean, all options are available. But time is precious and once you start filling the proverbial "in box," it seems your mind gets busy and it becomes harder & harder to see all the possibilities that are available to you in life.

This is a rare and unique opportunity to reassess the whole thing...but damn it's hard. It smacks of deep philosophical questions about the meaning of life and all that "stuff." If anyone has figured that out yet, please let me know! You would save me a lot of time here.

Assuming no one has figured that out, I find myself with a challenging new task - figuring out what the heck it is that's really important to me these days...in my older age. Where do I want to invest my limited time in this life? We spend more time on our work than on anything else in life. Why not make that work a joy and have meaning? Of course, it would be helpful if we can make a decent living too!

I recently attended a meeting of the National Speaker's Association, an organization that I am honored to say that I joined last week. Our speaker last Saturday was Jim Cathcart who is a professional motivational speaker and author. His web site is: http://www.cathcart.com. He also has a great blog at: http://highvaluerelationships.blogspot.com where he talks about Intelligent Motivation. But one of the points Jim made in his speech Saturday was to ask yourself, "Who is glad that they know you?" That question gave me great pause. I think we all desire to be liked, but his point was deeper than that. He spoke of thinking about the impact you can have by enhancing the lives of others. How you can help people achieve their goals, their dreams or just plain feel better about themselves because they know you. How can you connect people with common goals and help both of them get to their desired outcome? Who is glad they know you?

On determining your motivation in life, he spoke about finding something that either bothers you or inspires you. When you find meaning in what you do, you bring more value to what you do.

Lastly, he stated, "How would the person I would like to become do the things I am about to do?" That is a powerful thought. A nice way I suppose of saying "fake it 'til you make it!"

So it seems that I stand at a crossroad and for the first time in my life, I am not sure what path to take - what goals to set. So I have decided the hell with it! I will just sit down for a while and think about it. Hopefully the meaning and motivation will become clear eventually and then the goals and activities should be a snap.

Anyone care to sit and join me a while?

Internet Resources are My Friend

Well as much as I have resisted the idea of drip e-mails and other technology in my real estate practice, I must admit that (when used effectively) this stuff works! Here are some cool things I have discovered lately.

First of all, drip e-mails have been a tool that I just never used before. There are a number of things you can send via drip e-mail but I think the best is to have listings sent either from the MLS (if that option is available to you) or from your web site (especially you RE/MAX Northwest people!). For the last couple of weeks, I have been setting people up on automatic e-mails - even sellers. They like to see what's happening in their neighborhood too - especially when their home is on the market. I also signed up buyers who said they didn't think they wanted to move until next spring - why not? Well, today one of those buyers called and said she would really like to see a couple of homes that I sent her and she would now be willing to move in the next couple of months.

A second buyer also e-mailed me in response to a drip e-mail and has scheduled a showing for this weekend. So without lifting a finger other than to set up the auto search, two buyers have called to schedule showing appointments. They're happy with the ease of information and I am able to do a better job for them without putting any tasks on my "to do list" and hovering over the MLS to see the latest listings.

Secondly, I have finally gotten off the dime and started using postlets.com. My former Tech Crutch - Ryan Fast - introduced me to postlets in one of his classes many months ago - maybe even a year ago now. I wrote the information down at the time with every intention to race out and use it! Did I? Heck no! Well, after the conversation with my Broker last Friday I decided it was time to pull out all the stops and get to work on craigslist and other vehicles for advertising. Darn Internet - can't seem to avoid it no matter what. But www.Postlets.com was actually a lot of fun and my ads looked so cute! I found myself giggling and playing with the color schemes and all kinds of great things. It's really worth checking out. Makes your craigslist ads very professional and saves them so you don't have to re-create them in order to re-post. Also, it sends out your ads to trulia.com, googlebase and lots and lots of others too - all for free. You can't beat that. And talk about a great tool to let your sellers know what you are doing for them EVERY WEEK! Postlets will do a lot of work for you in very little time. Here is a link to one of my ads for today: http://www.postlets.com/res/1450637

Third, for those of us who are RE/MAX agents, you gotta check out LeadStreet for your contact management, drip campaigns and more. When you really get to know the power of LeadStreet, you might be amazed. Even better, they have come out with a new tool called LeadStreet Accelerator! It creates a personal web site that is fully tied into RE/MAX.com and it makes you a featured agent on RE/MAX.com - kind of like Realtor.com when you pay lots and lots of money - except that LeadStreet accelerator is only a little money. You also get a super slick tool called "Home Sale Alert" that is an auto-generated e-mail to everyone in your database that sends them the last 5 most recent sales closest to them in their neighborhood every month in a very professional looking format. Great for current, past or future clients. There are some other cool tools as well. If you are interested in it, I am happy to e-mail you some information that I received from them. I signed up today! My web site will be up on Tuesday.

Lastly, don't ever forget the power of staying in touch with your database. My business partner just prepared a "Real Estate Special Report" that we e-mailed out to his database today. He is now following up with phone calls to touch base with people directly - oh and writing notes afterward! :-) Staying in touch with your clients and offering them answers to the questions that they may be contemplating in these unique economic times is of great benefit to them and will position you as the resource for their real estate needs of all kinds. That's what we want to be right? He is getting very favorable feedback already.

So who would've thought that Internet resources would be my friend in business. Not I! If you have any other great tools that you use, please post a comment. Have a great day!

Practice What You Preach...YEAH RIGHT!

So for the last 3 years I had the great honor of mentoring a number of agents through 100 Days to Greatness - a new agent training program created by Buffini & Company. Sean, my co-instructor, and I spent countless hours in front of the classes; watching the DVD's; imparting our "words of advice" and giving guidance and suggestions to agents who were working hard to build a successful career in real estate.

Our primary frustration was always the low numbers that the agents reported every week that related to their proactive business-building activities. I mean come on, how hard is it to write a few notes every day, make a few calls and meet a few people?! We wondered what else could be occupying their time since most were new to the business and not yet involved in actual sales transactions yet. Week after week, class after class, the same problems and excuses brewed....

"I have run out of people to write notes to."

"I am worried about what people will think when they suddenly start hearing from me all the time."

"I didn't get my CAP item out because I am struggling with the wording. It just doesn't sound like ME."

" I was too busy doing a CMA to do all that stuff."

These were just a few of the many excuses we heard.

We tried to be creative with techniques and ways to help hold everyone accountable to themselves and each other. We ourselves tried implementing these skills within our own business - but we weren't NEW agents. As such, I have come to realize that we had a different mindset on all this & a vastly different set of tools to work with.

So here I am in Maryland. PUSH has come to SHOVE. I AM the new agent. I have to put my money where my mouth was and do all this Buffini stuff with a bunch of people I don't know and in a place wherein I have no database to speak of.

Write 5 notes each day!? Hahahahaha. Yeah RIGHT!

Call 5 people today!? Hahahahaha. Yeah RIGHT!

Hand out 5 business cards each day using the mayor campaign?! You've got to be kidding.

But then again...what AM I spending my time doing?

So I introduce my business partner to the Buffini way. He has been a real estate agent for over 15 years - never heard much about Buffini & has primarily worked transactionally - not by referral. His Broker gave him 100 Days to Greatness DVDs. He watched Days 1 and 2. He ran out to the mall and handed out 5 business cards using the mayor campaign, added several people to his database and wrote notes. Awesome result. Um. That was easy. But it actually made me mad. It made me realize that I was missing out and just not working smart. And the thing is, I KNOW BETTER!

So what's my problem? It's between the ears!!! Stinkin' thinkin' (as both Zig Zigler and my Dad were so fond of saying) has a tremendous power over our ability to succeed. Success requires ACTION.

But the days seem to slip through my fingers....

My Broker called me in to his office on Friday and we had a heart-to-heart. He asked me the question, "Amy, what have you been doing with your time since you arrived that will bring new business?" Oh boy. He put me on the spot. This was weird. I used to be the one behind the desk asking such questions. (By the way, if you were ever on the other side of that from me, I have a whole new appreciation for how you felt!) So I rattled off a few things and realized how lame it sounded.

However, if I had been truly using the Buffini systems and able to tell my Broker that I went out and met 5 people everyday and handed out my business card, added people to my database, followed up with a note and call, I would have felt much better about the whole thing. I would have had a database and maybe even some business!

So I have been thinking about that conversation and why I haven't been doing those things very well. I see three main themes: fear of social humiliation, lack of systems, lack of motivation.

On point number one - fear of social humiliation - I don't really know anyone anyway. What do I have to lose?

Number two - lack of systems. I have been working on that. I am organizing my weekly schedule on Sunday evening. I will proactively PLAN to meet people and put it in the schedule.

Number three - lack of motivation. A regular assessment of my bank account during the Sunday planning session should do the trick!

What are my alternatives? Door knocking, cold calling, or getting a "real" job. I looked at the job ads a few times. No thanks. Door knocking & cold calling...not happening.

So I need to practice what I was preaching. Get motivated NOW - not after the resources wear out. Get organized - create simple systems and USE them. Get a GRIP. No one will bite.

I must plug Buffini & Company here though. Having a coach that has followed me through from my decision-making process in Seattle to landing here in Maryland has been a great help. Having a system already in place with the "Buffini in the box" items of value every month is awesome - no need to re-invent the wheel. Having the small group experience here in Maryland has reminded me that everyone is facing the same challenges and through the Buffini network we are here to lend support and cheer each other on.

Tomorrow, I am putting 5 cards in my pocket and striking out. I'll report my numbers if YOU report yours!

The Home Field Advantage

OK. So the truth is that moving across the country and diving into a new real estate market (while very interesting and exciting) has been a huge blow to my confidence. I recently labeled myself "The Village Idiot." Nothing is familiar. I actually got lost one night coming home from the grocery store which is by the way less than a mile away. The homes are all so different - strange styles that aren't clear to me. For example, what is the difference between a dutch colonial and a colonial home [pictured above]? I think I know - but even now, I am not certain. Just found out today what a cape cod really is. I have been so off my game here that I literally have had trouble discerning which direction I am heading on most roads - N, S, E or W? They all twist and turn and go over hill and dale!

[DUTCH Colonial below]

AND REAL ESTATE...oh my God. Everything seems different. I just found out today that seller's do not pay for title insurance at all! The buyer pays for both policies. The disclosures are weird. There are two types of contracts - a jurisdictional contract and MRIS (same as MLS) contract. I'm still not sure when you use one or the other or both. All escrows are run through attorneys and no one calls it "closing" but rather "settlement." Buyers and sellers BOTH attend "settlement" which is an actual meeting in the escrow office wherein both parties sign their documents at the same time, argue out any last issues and agents attend and are provided their commission checks on the spot as sellers also receive their net distributions then too. These differences are just the TIP of the iceberg.

So I charged off to Maryland from Seattle ready to jump in with both feet and kick butt and take names. Instead I got lost, tripped and fell on my face and may have chipped my confidence tooth permanently in the process!

So I have been beating myself up a bit with being down, frustrated and wondering why I can't seem to compete. EVERYONE ELSE has the HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE - even the newest agent! Then while unpacking one last box today I came across a book, "Smart Talk" by Lou Tice. By some strange chance I flip through the pages quickly and notice one word - homesick. It struck a chord. I returned to the page and began reading (for those who have the book the passage begins on page 218). It was an awakening. What I am experiencing is normal! Imagine that! He states that certain signals tell you when you are out of your comfort zone. Your memory gets blocked. (TRUE! How the hell do I get home from the grocery store?!) You suddenly become awkward, clumsy, accident-prone...(TRUE AGAIN and embarrassing I might add!). You feel tense...your blood pressure rises, your vocal chords tighten and make your voice sound funny (May explain my first client interview...UGH!).

We are wired to stay with the familiar in life - to remain comfortable. But it is only through change and expanding our minds that we can truly grow. Sometimes however that process can be uncomfortable and downright painful. Lou says that your subconscious says, "Don't go and [make a fool of yourself in an uncomfortable environment]. You'll blow it! Stay with the familiar. Stay where you belong. Stay with who you know. Don't try to expand."

So how do I make this unfamiliar, uncomfortable environment my new normal and even better - GROW in a positive way from this experience? Here's what Lou suggests:

1. Visualize and imprint the new situation in your mind as the way things are supposed to be. You create a venturesome spirit and take yourself safely to the next situation or level.

2. Challenge what you know as the way things are supposed to be. (Great example on page 225.) When you change the way you think, you change your life.

3. When you screw up, laugh about it and move on. You build resiliency and keep your ideas burning inside.

The reason I share all of this is that we are ALL EXPERIENCING a new environment as real estate professionals with bailouts and credit crunches, etc. Even seasoned veterans are seeing changes that are unprecedented. They have a better advantage having had to adjust to changes in the past but not everyone is able to work through these market changes & keep a positive outlook. But if we visualize our success, challenge our old way of thinking about how things are "supposed to be" and don't beat ourselves up when we have difficulties, we can exponentially grow through the process and emerge stronger, better and more resilient.

OK. So I have decided that today I am giving myself the home field advantage. This IS my new normal and I can see myself succeeding and producing, etc., etc., etc. How about you?

Maryland Real Estate - Oh My

Hi Friends,

I thought a blog would be a fun way to keep in touch and share some experiences I have had with Maryland Real Estate and anecdotes from my experience as a "new" agent all over again. They say real estate is the same everywhere. "They" lied. It seems that everything is different here - from the MLS, to the homes, to the streets and even the bugs! Termites are a BIG deal so terminte inspections are an integral part of every sale. On the lighter side, there are lightning bugs (fireflies) too! Loved those as a kid - discovered I still love them as an adult.

I have learned that no one cares about square feet of a home much - in fact it is often not even included in the MLS information! Too much risk of a law suit since about half of the people who live around here are lawyers of some kind! The big factor for a sale is the home's style - colonial is the most popular. Quite a change from the craftsman style in Seattle. The homes ALL seem to have basements but rarely do they have a garage. If they do have a garage it is often a 1-car that is used for storage. Only the higher end homes that are newer in age have the honor of enjoying a 2 car+ garage. Oh my. What a change from 3-car garages.

The MLS system is owned by the Association of Realtors and there are a number of them around here. ALL the agents are members and regretfully we have to pay quarterly dues of $167.00. Bummer. It is an incredible system though but much more difficult to figure out than the NWMLS. More on that in a later blog!

Probably the most bizarre difference for me is that every agent carries on their keychains a little device called a SafeCode token. EVERY time you want to access the MLS, you have to push the token to get a random access code that must be put in along with your log-in and password. So if you lose your keys, you're screwed! No MLS access. You get used to it but it is an aggravation if you don't have your keys handy.

There have been lots of other funny and odd little things here that are interesting to learn and observe. For example, instead of a "Park-n-Ride," they have a "Kiss-n-Ride!" Overall, it has been a pretty overwhelming but truly a fun experience to learn this new area and dive into real estate. One of my most memorable moments occurred last week while attending an evening broker's Open House at a new condo building in D.C. The view from the top deck was of the Washington Monument glowing in the distance - pretty spectacular.

Let me remind you all before I part that the Steelers won the Monday night game last night!!!! Go Steelers! I have tickets to the Nov. 3rd game here in D.C. against the Redskins. Can't wait!

Miss you all and would love to hear from you anytime. I hope business is good and life is sweet!

Amy
E-mail: amyanderson@remax.net
New Cell: 301-832-0864