La Quinta California Real Estate

Times are tough for everyone in this economy.  We have all had to buckle down on our spending in order to adjust to the challenging economy, but do we really have to lower our integrity to get a listing?

The idea of overpricing to get a listing is nothing new, we have all seen it before.  However it appears that so many agents are throwing ethics and fiduciary responsibility out the window in order to get their sign in some poor unknowing clients yard.  Does this really pay off or is it just another way agents are hurting the market and slowing down sales?  Are we not the professionals who are to educate the real estate world of the market happenings?  Is this not a violation of our responsibility to uphold truth and honesty?

I have been on several listings appointments in the past month and it always comes down to the Listing Price.  I am frustrated that other agents are snowing these poor people into believing their house is worth $25,000 more then what the comps are showing.  Even when I explain and show written proof of the closed sales, they are still hopeful they will somehow get more because so and so agent down the road told them so.  All I can do is walk away with my head held high knowing I did not sacrifice the truth for a darn sign in their yard. Then I just sit back a few months and wait for the call from the sellers wanting my advice as to why it did not sale yet. 

How do you handle these situations and do you agree that as Realtors we need to put professionalism before greed of filling our pockets?

I was  very fortunate a few years ago to have several months of core value coaching by Tom Ferry. Tom knows me very well for several years. This was one of the most valuable growing and learning experiences I have had in my life. I became aware of where my strengths and weaknesses were and are. I learned that I attracted control and am very controlling. I do not like feeling out of control. I also have lived alot of years in drama and chaos. What seemed calm to me really was not calm. I have been working very hard to learn true calm, stable, peace, joy, love.
 I also felt I was a very giving loving person. I learned that I did give alot, but it was mainly on my terms and at my time and at what I felt was needed. This year my company had a charity event for animal rescue. It was really good for me. I did not have the control. I do not even really even love animals. I met alot of really nice people. Alot of animals were helped. Our goal was to raise $3000 and we raised nearly $14000. I let go and let everyone participate. It was amazing how it worked out.
 I still have challenges in my life. I am just able to deal with them more calmly know it all eventually works out. I deal with the challenges with inspired action. I have learned to live with much less money, but have wonderful people in my life. I am grateful for good health, great family, super people in my company, fabulous clients, and a wonderful area to live. Life is good

Administrative Professionals Day is April 21st, as Realtors we know the value of these people!

As Realtors we know how important it is to have a great team of people in place to close a deal.  Without these members, we would not get paid after all.  So tomorrow is Administrative Professionals Day so lets all remember to take the time out of our schedules to thank the people we cant live without.

*Title

* Escrow

* Home Warranty

Here in my La Quinta office The Lori Bowers Group i am fortunate to have Sally as my assistant.,Michelle as my transaction coordinator and Denise Dupoint with Oasis Escrow.  I know on a daily basis that I can count on these people. There are so many others that make up the team....

Administrative Professionals Day is April 21st, as Realtors we know the value of these people! Lets show them how much tomorrow, but also everyday!

Just a reminder, cell phone numbers will be released to telemarketers this month. Ya know, the sales people that call when you have finally kicked off your shoes in the evening and are looking forward to a relaxed evening after a long day- I being a broker am in sales and I understand the need to communicate with potential clients, but i also know sometimes these sales calls are a royal pain in the you know what.  It is bad enough they come through on the home phone, but I really don't want to have to pay for these calls on my cell phone.  Or worse yet, have to try to politely end a conversation with a pushy sales person as I am in the car navigating traffic or writing an offer.

So just thought as I was making sure to get my name off the headhunters list, that I would remind you to remember to call

888-382-1222 to have your number protected.  It only takes a few seconds and can save alot of pain down the road.....

California's unemployment rate stayed at 12.4 percent and the nations rate was 10 percent.   Every city in the  Coachella Valley has been hit by unemployment and job loss.  Sams Club in La Quinta announced they are closing and therefor many people are going to be laid off. In Mecca, one in four people are without a job.

So what is they key to turning around our market?  We have to find ways to bring more jobs into our areas. We have to find ways to keep people employed.  Do we need to stop outsourcing our jobs to different countries in order to assure our survival?  Is it time to make changes here at home?

I was reading a little business fact in the paper and it really struck me!  It said that the average person spends about $21 a week without having any idea where it went.  That adds up to $1,092 a year that we lose somehow.....How many times do we think about the money we spend without realizing it.?  How many times could we have filled up our gas tanks or treated ourselves to a small vacation with the money we spend without thinking...

Do you ever stop and think about the amount of money we waste?  I know it really hit me to start paying attention to the little spending as it adds up.

My husband had a coughing episode at 3 Am that woke me up. I asked him if he wanted me to go out to the kitchen counter and get him the throat spray there. He said yes. I got the spray bottle and he used it. He then asked me where it was exactly and we figured out it was what he had bought for the cat Pasha. We were both laughing so hard. The really funny part is he thinks it worked! What a wonderful guy to laugh about it with me!

Where did the last decade go?  Remember as kids, time went by so slowly when we were waiting for vacation or Christmas? Our birthdays seemed to take forever to go around the whole year. Funny how perception changes once you hit adulthood.

Thinking about the fear of 2000 with Y2K!  People scrambling, praying and keeping fingers crossed that the world would not stop spinning.  I remember filling the cars with gas because we did not know if the gas pumps would work New Years Day. It is hard to believe that was a decade ago. So much has happened and so much sadness, financial crashes and people loosinng so much physically, mentally and emotionally. 

So with 2010 everyone is once again ready for a new decade. Time for a change, for hope and new beginings! 

Wishing everyone not only a Happy New Year, but also an amazing Decade full of promise, peace and prosperity!

We just took an amazing listing at PGA West, "The Residence Club"  This is a fractional listing and the idea of Fractional Listings appears to be growing amongst our out of town Snowbirds. Many people get Fractional Homes confused with Timeshares and they are not the same.

The big difference between the two is with a Fractional Purchase the buyer actually owns real estate.  This is done with an actual Real Estate Deed which is recorded and guaranteed by a title insurance policy. Each owner is conveyed with an undivided interest.  Like any real estate this interest can be willed, deeded, sold and even placed in a trust

A timeshare is just that.  You do not hold title or  full vested ownership,just the right to "lease" a unit for a certain time frame.

Many of our out of town folks that love the desert are finding these fractional homes to fit their needs.  The property is maintained, and when they leave the do not have to worry about anything besides the next time they come back. 

Are you seeing  an increase in Fractional Ownership?

Christmas is the holiday of celebration, good cheer and family and friends gathering together to remember what is truly important.  It is not the material things, the monetary gain or the size of the presents that matter, but the love of family and friends.

I think as Realtors we also have another  reason to kick up our heels and celebrate with whoops of cheer!  Have an egg nog or two or three and indulge in good food, friends and life.  For those of us in Real Estate full time, Christmas marks the ending of another year we made it, we survived the changing market and we are still standing strong.  Maybe a little weathered and tired, maybe a few more wrinkles or grey hair, but my fellow Realtors, WE MADE IT!

So join me this Christmas and remember when you awake to see what Santa has brought, that we have many blessings to be grateful for. Be grateful for our endurance, our strength, our education throughout the year and our personal growth even with tough clients in a difficult market.

SALUTE!  WE SURVIVED!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY FELLOW REALTORS