NY Houses 4 Sale

MLS Tech Fair was a HUGE hit!

Today was a great day at the MLS Tech Fair, it was a SOLD out event that I feel gave Realtors alot of useful information.  I actually over heard a few women in the hallway saying how overwhelmed and overloaded they felt with information and both women hoped that they remembered a quarter of what was said. 

(Dan Green, Joe Ferrara and Phil Thomas Di Giulio from WellcomeMat.com)

I have to say that this was my first time speaking in public to that large of a group.  My nerves were high prior to the panel sitting down but once we got started and I saw how receptive the audience was and I quickly relaxed and enjoyed the moment. 

If there are people from that event reading this blog, I invite you to comment your thoughts and feelings about the session:  What did you like?  What should we change?  Did you walk away with the urge to start your blog?  Have you started a blog of your own yet?   

I felt like our panel worked well together and gave alot of great information.  But, I would like to know what the audience took away from the session (and think of it this way, this is your first step to blogging). 

I want to thank MLSLI for inviting me and I look forward to reading your new blog (which I will add to my blog roll once you have it live).  I want to extend my thank you to Jenny Natale and Beth O'Connor as well as the rest of the crew who assisted us.  I was delighted to take part in such a great function that you planned.  Do you do Weddings? 

I would like to give a shout out to those who introduced themselves to me:

• Wilfred E. Joseph - Daniel Gale
• Mona Holzman - Century21, June Shapiro
• Robin Gordon - Coldwell Banker
• Ben Olivia - Keller Williams
• Scott Mitchell - Century21, Laffey
• Scott Forcino - ProRealEstateCity.com
• Swaranjit Singh - Goldwin Realty

And to those who I already knew, it was great to see you and talk to each of you:

• Paula Annaruma - PCA Realty
• Barbara Gunn - Prudential, Franklin Square
• Judy D. - Remax, Markowitz Group
• Lois Hanson - Coach

And last - To the panel, You guys ROCK!  It was such a pleasure to meet you Dan - Dan, I will think of you when I am cooking up my chili and the next time you are in NY, let me know!  I did not see you before I left and I did not get to thank you in person.  Sorry! 

Linda, I think you and I could have talked for hours.  Keep in touch, now that I know you work within the same area as FOXWOODS, you might have an overnight guest.  Frequently!  (Ok, I kid!)

I hope you both made it home safe!

To my best blogger buddies, what can I say?  It is always a pleasure, I learn something new every time we meet.  I wish you nothing but the best - always.  I appreciate your coat tails and wings that you have provided me.  Thank you is not enough!

Local Queens Realtor Plays with the "Big Boys"

When I started to blog over a year and a half ago, I really had no direction, no idea what I was doing or where this would take me.  I have never declared to be the authoritative blog.  I don't go heavy into the politics of Real Estate and I steer clear of the heated discussions about Zillow, Redfin or any new technology.  I have never quoted anything Latin on my blog and I certainly do not air out my laundry on my blog. 

But I still blog.

I blog about my local area.  I stick to what I know and I know Queens Real Estate.  Sure there are agents who sell more and some that list more than I do.  But none of them blog.  I am almost the only Realtor that even has a blog, let alone blogs the way that I do.  There are blogs that talk about their listings and blogs that repeat what articles say word for word, like snipping them out of the newspaper.  But I feel that I have stood out. I am doing what no other Realtor or Company is doing.  So for right now, I shine. 

This past August, Ralph Roberts published a book "Foreclosures for Dummies" and believe it or not,  he added me as a contributor!  I was very flattered and so thrilled to get my complimentary book and I have read it from front to back.  My take?  Anyone who is looking to buy foreclosures should read this book.  Right now you can buy it in your local Barnes and Nobles book store or you can click right here to go directly to Amazon.com. 

More News:  Tomorrow , er Today, I will sitting on a panel for the LIBOR MLS TECH FAIR.  How cool is that?  I will be speaking at the sold out event with the "Big Boys".   Sitting with me will be Blog Tour Boys, Sellsius, Dan Green from The Mortgage Reports and Linda Davis from Eastern CT Real Estate Blog. 

Hopefully, after tomorrow I will begin breathing again and I will update you on the skinny about blogging, but for right now I am feel all hyped up and nervous.   

Growth -

When I got my real estate license I did it for selfish reasons.  I wanted to buy a house.  I had no idea how or what to do to buy a house, so I figured in my one track mind that I would go to school and get a license  - and boom - buy a house, just like that.   Of course it did not happen that way. 

I did get my license and I "interviewed" alot of real estate companies and decided on one that I felt would be the best fit for me.  Little did I know that I would stay there for more than five years.  Yes, I did buy my house but I also found a career that honestly, I loved. 

I Sold My Soul.

That is what I did when I became the office manager for the one and only company that I worked for.    After a few of my own deals and lot of learning and classes that I took through out a time period of a year and a half, I was offered the Manager position.  It was not something that I jumped into to light hearteningly.  I took my job very seriously and I treated the office like it was my own.  But before I took the job I had alot of things to consider like:

• I am an employee now, not an independent contractor.
• My friends who were agents would have to deal with me as their boss.
• It could/would change the magnitude of my relationship with my broker.
• I could hate it and then be out of a job and never work as an agent again.
• It could make or break my career.

I was right on all counts. 

Everything Did Change.

From the minute I stepped into my "new office"  I had changed the stride of the office.  Sometimes agents would feel funny to "bitch" to me because they felt that I would go "tell on them", (which for the record, I never did - I always stuck up for everyone).  I had alot to deal with from day one, but I felt like I could handle all the heat thrown my way.   Many Some of the agents who worked in my office were mad at me because they were there longer than I was and some agents really wished me well.  I sustained all the good and bad wishes.  But to make a long story short,  I did not take that "promotion" for the salary that was being offered.  I took that position because I knew I would be good at it and again for selfish reasons - I wanted to know everything about real estate and how to run an office from the inside and out. 

There was a bigger picture for me.

I am not talking about learning the ropes so I could go and open my own place, that is not what it was about.  It was more like I needed to know everything so I could pass on my knowledge to others.  I needed to know how to do everything because that was the only way I could do my job.  I felt that there was going to be  massive levels of growth with the company, but somewhere the road stopped for me.      

Like Raising kids.

I have always said that managing an office is like raising kids.  Just like a parent has to break up fights, so does a manager (I call it defusing).  Just like a parent who has to teach a child how to become a responsible adult, a manager has to show an agent what to do sometimes but also when to back away and let that agent sink or swim.  And just like a parent - you will always take pride with you when one of "yours" does a great job!

What now?

Many have asked where I have been and what I have been up to and like most of you already know, I left my previous broker to go onto bigger and better things.  Although, currently I still have my license still with my previous broker - I have only resigned as office manager.    It was  a decision that again, I did not take lightly.  Alot of thought and careful consideration went into my personal decision and to be honest, not because of how it would affect me but how it could or would affect my agents.   

So after a month and a half later...

I have no regrets.  I feel that I have always done the right thing for my broker and I have always had his best interest at heart and I will continue to do so.  I know that there are bad feelings from his end and that is OK, it is something that he will have to live with.  I am not mad, I was never mad - I was at a fork in the road and felt I had to take an opportunity that presented itself to me and I felt that I stopped growing with him.  I was becoming stagnate and tired.  I needed a change and I needed to do it quickly - So I took a position with a developer and I am learning a different aspect of real estate.      

I am still selling real estate - it is something that I love to do and I feel that it is in my blood.  I am still available to answer your calls and emails, so feel free to drop me a line whenever you have a question or a comment. 

 

Inside Scoop...

They are here and they are there.  People are talking abut them and starting new ones everyday.    I get emails about different ones everyday.  In My RSS Feeder I get fed alot - ahem, trust me.. alot.

Blogs.  Most people now know what a blog is and the truth of the matter is,  I have had to explain what an actual blog is a few times and well to be honest, defend myself because of my blog. 

This afternoon I got an email about Realtors blogging from MLS Marketing and it was a cute email - it went something this:

According to the 2007 Member Profile by the National Association of Realtors, only 4 percent of Realtors have a Blog. That means there is still time to get ahead of the competition by claiming your spot in the blogoshpere.

Blogs are a great way to share insights and opinions on a variety of real estate topics, from buyer-basics to the latest real estate trends. They are also a great way to build site traffic and prove your expertise to buyers and sellers in your market.

True... True. 

While all of that is true, they forgot to mention something very important: Social Networking!  Social Networking is naturally created once a Realtor starts to blog and starts to converse with another Realtor/blogger.  For some reason within the real estate industry it is very competitive, but when a two Realtors Blogs they become colleagues.  I speak to Doug Hedding from True Gotham and I love speaking with Noah from UrbanDiggs - both are two different bloggers and both excellent in my opinion, but they are not using either of their blogs to bash or talk down about each other - they have become colleagues.  Heck, Doug even referred me out.  (which, btw Doug - thanks again).    

Let me point out that there was a function this past month that drew hundreds of thousands of Realtors, Mortgage brokers, vendors and etc. together.  They were are there to bounce off some ideas, perhaps debate some ideas and maybe even walk away from some ideas.  But the fact of the matter still is - they (Bloggers) came from all over the place, two bloggers even took a month to make a cross country trip and meet up with almost every blogger from NYC to California.  (No, I am not making this up). 

Within a few weeks I will be speaking at the MLS Tech fair.  I am actually very honored and excited to be doing a panel and helping other Realtors learn how to PROPERLY blog and I will want to give my own reasons as to WHY blogging in a social way is important. 

As of this week coming, I have resigned as the manager of Carollo Real Estate.    I will however still continue to "practice" real estate and I will hope that my Broker will continue to allow me to operate with him holding my license ( I asked and he agreed, but..) . 

Please stay tuned for what happens next...

Not so great advertising.

Maybe its me but advertising on a bus for everyone to draw on your face is just so.. I don't know - Remax.

Yup, I have been Posh'd!

How cool is that?

Flushing Resident Bids a Farewell...

Kevin Walsh the webmaster over at Forgotten-NY has packed up and is moving right out of Flushing and heading right into Little Neck.

Kevin, a longtime resident of Flushing has decided that enough is enough and he does not want to end up living over a "gas station eating cat food by the light of a single light bulb".  So Mr. Walsh has leap into homeownership and bought a house.  If you have not seen his blog - it is a must.

Forgotten-NY has archives of pictures of old homes that have been replaced with new brick square homes.  It is interesting and very sad to see what was and what has become of some of the neighborhoods - not only in Flushing but the surrounding New York areas as well - College Point, Fresh Meadows , Little Neck  and a ton more...

Take Care Kevin - I wish you the best of Luck in Little Neck! 

Want to buy Kevin's book?

(Picture: Courtesy of Forgotten-NY.com) 

To blog or not.. That is the question!

Hi everyone,

In life there are always crossroads that one must meet.  Some crossroads are easier to deal with than others, this is true.  When I started this blog I really had no idea how or what I would gain or rather what the public would gain from my blog.  I knew that no one really in my area was blogging in the true sense of blogging and by this I mean not having a blog to just post homes listed and sold and/or citing various articles from Msn, aol.com, bankrate.com or nolo.com.    I was different from my brokers blog (he is really the only other person I know who somewhat uses a blog). 

After almost a year and a half, I stand at a crossroad. 

My broker (with all due respect) hates the fact that I blog.  He will use condescending remarks about this blog and he will try to debunk the whole notion of blogging.  He will argue that I am not a journalist and I should not be offering my opinion or advice.  While it is true that I am no where near being a journalist, I do have advice to offer and I certainly have bold opinions.  I do feel that I have been very soft spoken on this blog for this past year and half and to be honest,  I felt I would rather play nice and not ruffle feathers.

This crossroad had me contemplating either shutting down this blog entirely, or to actually start using my voice - my real voice.  It is very hard for me in particular to not speak my true feelings on alot of issues. 

After alot of thought I have opted to speak up, SPEAK CLEARLY and SPEAK very very LOUD! 

This blog will remain !

Just a silly conversation!

Last week I went to show a buyer a co-op in the LeHavre development and while we were in the apartment looking out the window she was asking me what buildings were what and as I was telling her about The Beechhurst Towers, she interrupts me and says "Charlie Chaplin used to live there."

As I laughed, I said "yes, how did you know... did you read that on my blog?"

"THAT'S how I knew you, I knew I knew you!"

Have you ever met him?

Virginia Association of Realtors set up "The Code is Good Business".   Ted Truitt - Check him out!