I Paid A Visit....

To a friend, supporter and client today to say Thank You! It would have been a surprise drop in except I wanted to get it on video for Go90x (ask me about it), so I told her I was coming.



Anyways, on behalf of myself and Go Realty, I want to thank all of my supporters, friends and clients.



You know I couldn't do it without you!!

I Just Can't Get Enough! Can You??

Anyone who knows me at all knows how I struggle with my vision. Particularly, I just can't seem to get enough light. In fact, if I've been to your home signing papers to list your home, you've likely  witnessed me with my phone and flashlight app trying to see the words to read.

Well since I know I'm not alone in this world of darkness (ok exaggerating a bit here), I thought of something yesterday while out with a client looking at new construction plans on a home.

Lights. Yes, light placement. It's way more important than you think.

Most people make sure they have a light fixture and possibly a ceiling fan prewire in each room. But this client asked about adding can lights around the ceiling where her husband's office would be.

Click click. My light bulb came on. I think others might not think about this necessity when buying a home.

So there's your little Tuesday night tidbit. You can thank Janie for that. (I'm sure she won't mind if I mention her by name). I know I have my lamp out over my keyboard as we speak. But how much easier it would have been if I had asked my builder to install more lighting in my ceiling?

Cheers and good well-lit evening to ya!

My Friends Rock!!

It's all about the people. It's easy to make it about me in this business or in life. But it's not about me. It's helping others fulfill their dreams of homeownership that makes my biz all worthwhile. (See previous posts about why I like my job).

I would not be where I am today without the amazing support of my friends. (Think acceptance speech here). But really, it's true. I am just sitting here simply amazed as I think back over the years at how many people have referred friends to me, lent a hand in real estate or supported me in every day life. I mean so many people... in fact too many to list here.

So today, I just wanna share with you a few fun pics I took tonight with some of my friends and supporters in my biz. Thanks friends. You rock!!!

Top 5 Ways to Relieve Stress When You're Buying a Home

Photo courtesy of Jen Martin

Nope. I can't promise it. Buying a home is not a walk in the park.

Yes. It yields the ultimate reward of defining your personal space and finding comfort in your surroundings.

Most anyone you talk to will tell you. There will be stress involved in the home buying process. And my friends, they are right. However, it doesn't have to consume your life and rob your joy, or land you in a therapist's chair with severe panic attacks.

You see, like any stressful time in life, you can find comfort in doing activities that alleviate that stress.

!. Exercise. Yes, I said it. No, it's not January 1, but it's still ahead of the approaching beach season. See with this one, you will kill two birds with one stone. The endorphins will take the edge off of the stress and the calories burned with take the excess off of your waist line. In fact, find a simple exercise that you enjoy and you will see an instant mood boost. (Self plug for my Zumba class. Really, you should come!)

2. Sleep. I know. I'm preaching to the choir here, but sleep helps everything. I mean everything. So give it a shot. Go to bed!

3. Talk it out with other home owners. Find the positive people in your life and discuss your home "situation." You will see that even though they like had their own stressful situations when they bought their homes, they will encourage you and help you to see the other side.... homeownership.

4. Have a drink. But not too many. Hell if OBs tell new moms to have one drink to relax, I think it could apply here. I mean, try it and see. But be careful, hangovers make the stressful situation grow.

5. Talk with your REALTOR! Talk with your Realtor about your concerns and what they are doing to address those concerns. But after you do that, TRUST. Ok, that's a big one. It's a big word and a tough act to do. But trusting in the person you hired to help you
takes away some of the burdens you carry in the home buying process contributing to that stress. Don't micromanage. Talk it out and then let it go.

If you can't do some of these 5 tips, no need to worry. Homeownership will still be yours. But if you tackle even some of these, that purchase will be a lot less stressful. Trust me. And come to Zumba class!

Those 2 Words!

Tar Heels!!!!

Those 2 words can make a girl so happy that I wanna do a little minion dance.......You get the picture.

Why? Because I'm a huge fan and tonight is a huge game! It might seem that I've become less of a die hard fan as I've not been to the UNC vs. Duke game at the Dean Dome in the past few years (I had, after all, attended every one at UNC against Dook since 1995.

But no amount of life and work can get in the way of a little rivalry and the jitters it gives me before each game.

Tonight, I may have to turn on the TV while I work and allow my heart to pump to the beat of the ball on the court and to the cheers of the fans in the
stands.

I'm not there again this year in person, but I am always there in spirit. So, tonight, I say Go Heels. Beat Duke!

Little man is going to bed now with his tee over his jays!

When the sign man visits.....

Good things happen!



Congrats to Stephanie Crowder at 3541 Sugar Tree Place on the contract on her home today! She received 3 offers on the home. Sign of a healthy market with low inventory folks.

Miracles Start With Dreams

There are many reasons I joined Go Realty in January of last year, but the one called Go Gives Back didn't strike a chord with me like it should have. I admit, having financial struggles personally due to a slower economy and the birth of my boys kind of left giving back at the furtherest corner of my mind.

But this is a new year. You see this year, Go Realty partnered with Garman Homes to raise $200,000 for the Duke Children's Hospital and Garman Homes will build the 2015 Miracle House in Briar Chapel. Now, I still don't know exactly what a miracle home is. But what I do know, is that having two sweet boys of my own, and struggling for over four years with fertility challenges, hit a sweet spot in my heart and makes me excited about this special opportunity I and my clients have. 

Through the program Go Gives Back, $50 of each commission sale check from each closing on my clients' homes is matched by Go Realty for a total of $100 per sale going to the Duke Children's Hospital.

Now, I know most everyone has some experience with a child or knowing someone with a child who has spent some time at a children's hospital. I'm hoping many will join us this year in giving any gift of money you can to such a deserving group of people. 

Many parents of these children have dreams of a healthy child or dreams of a child who will survive. It may take miracle. We may not be miracle workers, but every little penny we give to such a worthy cause moves these dreams closer to reality for these hurting families.

Please let me know if you would like to donate with Go Realty to the Duke Children's Hospital. If you are not personally looking to move now, maybe you have a friend or family member who will buy or sell a home this year. Have them contact me and $100 of their sale will go to this cause.

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Here's the crew from Garman Homes and Go Realty at the
big pledge reveal at the Mix 101.5 Radiothon this week for
the Duke Children's Hospital. $200,000 pledge!

Protect Your Fondest Memories

It's happened to quite a few people I know. It's happened to me. My home was burglarized. Ok it's been a year and a half ago, but I am often reminded of how lucky we were and how others fared differently with their precious memories.

When I entered my home and quickly realized something was not right, I began to go room by room to see if things were missing. When I got to my bedroom, I realized my TV was gone. I immediately panicked and ran upstairs praying that my computer was still there. As the officer ahead of me said, "Ma'am, is there supposed to be something in this space on top of your desk," my heart sank.

What was missing from my desk was my computer. Considering I work from home, not only had I lost all of my work, but all of the memories of my children from birth stored electronically on my computer. Or so I thought. A quick tearful phone call to my husband revealed he had hidden the external hard drive to the computer out of sight and reach. I quickly confirmed it was still in it's place and wanted to reach through the phone and hug him as I realized all may not have been lost.

But for others, they are not so lucky. In fact a friend who lives locally lost all of her children's electronic scrapbooks she had been working on for the past few years when her home was burglarized for the third time recently. The mean people took her laptop this time, and with it many memories she cannot get back.

I tear up as I write this post because I know how she must feel, and how she will feel when she is reminded of it upon reading this post.

My point is not to focus on the past and what happened to her, me or others I know. My point in this post is to let everyone know something to try that could preserve years of pictures and work in the event your computer is stolen.

An external hard drive......

Anyone can get one. And I would recommend hiding it up high somewhere completely out of sight and out of reach. You might also consider storing it from time to time outside of your home. Leave it at a friend's home or place it in a deposit box at the bank. Whatever you do, don't naively believe that this will never happen to you. I did. I knew my home being broken in to was a possibility, as it happens in the world most everyday. But I didn't stop to think how I might feel if all of my family's memories were stolen from me.

Go out today and buy an external drive or other way to back up your work. Or, if you want to wait until the snow clears, I think you have that time at least.

A Four Letter Word That Means So Much

I've known her for a while from Zumba class. Darah, her husband Henry, and their cute son Jonah, decided to put their home on the market in the fall of last year.

They made the decision to keep business separate from friendship and listed with another Realtor. I totally understood when Darah told me. After all, I didn't wanna hear any four-letter words travel my way if a year later, her home was still on the market. :) Not that that would happen of course.

In all honesty, I value my friendships. You see, as with any clients, I don't rest until my friends' homes sell when I put them on the market.

These guys had a change of heart this year and in less than 1 month of me putting their beautiful Woodlake home back on the market, they get to say the four letter word that will take them to their next destination. Darah said she came home from work today to this four letter word...."SOLD!"

Congrats friends! And thanks for trusting me and Go Realty to find the buyers. :)

Who knew drool and pbj stains would spawn a career?

Ok I fibbed. Just a little. For drool and pbj were just a "twinkle in my eye" when I began my real estate career ten years ago.

Have you ever been in a job you actually enjoy but you're under appreciated, under paid or down right under supported with the tools you need to build your organization in the way you had envisioned? Yes, you can relate?? OK some of you can. No worries... that's old news. 

It was that place, that point where moving forward in your career is actually more painful than the frightening, "what the hell am I thinking" move into a commission based business with no health insurance, no clients, no scheduled monthly pay check and no real vision of the future. You see, that decision was made after a year and a half of internal deliberation. "Can I do this?" I thought. "Will I succeed?"

In January of 2004, I jumped with both feet in (and with the surprising support of my husband) to pursue a bigger future. One where I had the freedom to be my own boss and set my own schedule.

I began to dream. I enjoyed the process of buying my first home and I began to dream this same dream over and over again for each one of my clients. One of my first clients I ever worked with shed tears over a decision to purchase her first home. I admit, as a rookie to real estate, and a rookie to tears during the process, I was scared. I had to help her pull it together so she could see clearly and make a decision based on her dreams. I took her through the Wendy's drive thru for a Frosty  (true story) and after she calmed down and looked at the home again through different eyes, she saw her future there with her husband. 

This isn't the only dream I've been apart of over the years. It certainly isn't the only tears I've been around to watch through the home buying and selling process. And I'm glad it isn't the only dream I've been a witness to. Each home viewing, each contract, each home inspection, each final walkthrough and each closing represents a step taken in fulfilling a dream. 

For many, the dream starts at home ownership. For others, it's starting a family, becoming a doctor, living near grandchildren, volunteering in the community or helping a son or daughter attend college. 

For me the dream began at becoming my own boss and setting my own hours. It quickly changed to helping others fulfill their dreams. and In 2008 my job as a Realtor took a different direction. Being my own boss and having a flexible schedule allowed me to stay home with my newborn baby, nurse him most of the time when I needed to, and see him through trials and tribulations with school. My next little miracle was born in 2010, and for 5 years now, my dream has evolved. 

You can say I dreamed of drool and pbj stains. And you are right. I would not change any minute of my journey and I know many of my clients would not change theirs. As they continue to spend the next days and years in their new homes, I will spend the next days and years with the family I dreamed of and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me. Thank you real estate and thank you God for my wonderful life! Dreams do come true.

It's 7 Minutes Until........

Midnight! You know what that means.... Happy Hour at Go Realty Durham!

Join us tomorrow from 4-6 for free beverages and food and see a happy seller with her newly signed contract in hand. Help us celebrate!

Hope to see some of you there!