Club Chaos Agents - All Things Hollish, Wacked, and Jacked

 One of the most difficult hurdles I have seen agents in this business get over is themselves. That's right, I am talking to you. It's not an easy thing to do, I will be the first to admit. But at some point, you are going to have to get over yourself in order to have any success at all and that's regardless of the market.

 Now give me a moment to explain. I'm not just talking about your ego, Lord knows there are times when my head will fill a room too. You also have to get over taking everything personal as well. For your clients this is personal, for you this is business. This is the profession you have chosen and now it's time to be a professional.

 That means it's not about you. It's all about your client and what it is that you can do for them.

  You have to consider the fact that your entire job is based on giving the client what they want. Good service, good advice, and a closed transaction. Guess what, in the end that's exactly what you want too so why not go ahead and give your client what they want. Because in the end, no matter how you slice it, this isn't about you. It's about them.

 I think it was Zig Ziglar that said, " You can have anything you want in life, you just have to help enough people get what they want first". So keep that in mind the next time you start thinking of yourself throughout the process. Just help your clients get what they want and in the end, you'll get where you need to be too.

These days price and condition are more important than ever. Maybe dogs are flying off the shelf elsewhere in the world, but since the market has cooled in most of the country, you need to pay particular attention to the key factors that will enable you to successfully sell your house. That being said, most people do not like their personal tastes to be critiqued and that can cause a great deal of stress for your agent. Especially if your personal taste is horrible and hinders the sell of the property. And since your agent is a little too nervous to say what really needs to be said, I am going to do it for them.

10 - Shag is a dance, it should not be a carpet. I will admit that from time to time I have seen shag carpet and thought that it was pretty cool. But each time, it was in a scene from a movie based in the 60's such as Austin Powers. Most buyers will agree with me, so lose that shag if you want to sell.

9 - I should not hear your kitchen before I see it. Or any other room for that matter. Just because you think that a color of yellow so bright that it can knock out an elephant is a cool thing, it doesn't mean that 99.9% of the rest of the world would agree with you. Remember, there are people who suffer from epilepsy and you don't need an agent or a buyer going into convulsions in you house.

8 - Raising your voice is not a form of negotiation. I know that you've seen several movies about high powered people who get their way just by demanding it and you think that's the way things work, but that movie is only for entertainment. Screaming that you don't want to lower the price doesn't suddenly make the rest of the world think your house is more valuable.

7 - Buyers don't care about you. I know that sometimes you think it's nice to ask your agent if they will communicate to the would be buyer all the reasons that it would be a great burden on you to go through with their demands, but they just don't care. They want a good deal and that's about it, so our broken leg, two jobs and inability to have the carpet replaced really means nothing to them.

6 - Dirty cloths are not a fashion statement. I could care less if you are wearing dirty cloths or not, that's more your business than mine. However, you don't need to scatter your dirty cloths that you are not wearing all throughout that house. They make dimmer switches if you want to set the mood, don't do it with a T-shirt draped over your lamp.

5 - It's not your home anymore. For whatever reason you have now decided to sell your house, therefore you no longer intend for it to be your home. So stop taking everything so personal, put on your big boy pants, and do what needs to be done to attract a buyer that will make it their home.

4- Jungle taming is not a favorite past time for buyers. If your lawn looks like you would need a machete to get through, then the buyer not even get out of the car. The only thing you do with an ugly yard is send the message that you don't care and it makes the buyer think you didn't take care of anything else either.

3 - Testing the market only tests my patience. The price your agent said the house should be listed at is usually a good indication of a price that the house should be listed at. I know, you glanced at Zillow and added $20,000 to their Zestimate to come up with your number and you want to "just give it a shot at this price." Or you could just go ahead and price it right from the start and not waste anyone's time including your own.

2 - I know less is more sounds wrong, but let's lose the chicken figurines anyway. The last thing you need to do is draw attention to how little counter space already have by overloading it with crap you don't need. I understand that some of these things may have a great deal of meaning to you, but that's all the more reason to store them out of sight so nothing happens to them.

1 - It's not worth more just because you lived here. Let's lose that ego, because unless you are very famous or are perhaps a historic figure, then your living here doesn't really add value here. I apologize if you are famous, but in case you haven't heard stars are losing money on their houses left and right these days too. So if you're just Joe Blow from the local corporate conglomerate, then I'm sure you're a great person and your family loves you, but see number 7 would you.

Have  a nice day!!

  Everyone wants to be liked, it's just part of human nature. I'll bet that you can scour the Earth and never find anyone who wakes up in the morning and says, " I hope someone hates me today."And more than we want anyone else to like us, we want clients and potential clients to like us. That means business my friend.

 But guess what, liking what you have to say in the long run can create a lot of future problems for you and your business. Telling people what they want to hear just to get the listing will only come back to bite you down the road. Every seller wants to hear that their home is worth a ton of money and you can sell it in no time flat. But if that's not the case, then you need to be the voice of reason that explains otherwise.

 Sure your chances of getting the listing might improve when you tell the what they want to hear, but your chances of the house not selling at having an angry client also increase drastically as well. So here's a wild idea, tell the truth. It may not make you the most popular guy at the time, but you'll keep your integrity and you won't waste your time or the seller's.

 Homes for Sale in Wood Lake - Columbia, SC Homes for Sale

 If you are searching for homes for sale in Columbia, SC and you want to live in one of Columbia's most sought after communities, then maybe Wood Lakeis the place for you. Located off of Rhame Road in Northeast Columbia, SC, Wood Lake is a beautiful community with winding streets and mature trees that greet you as you drive or stroll through.

Only minutes from the Village at Sandhill to provide you with all the shopping, dinning, and entertainment that you could want, Wood Lake is in an ideal location. The community is also only within minutes of I-77, 277, and I-20 making a commute to virtually any side of town easy and only 20 minutes away from the main gate of Fort Jackson of Forest Drive.

 Of course the use of the word lake in the name is not just to make it sound good, there is a great lake in the center of the community with several homes lucky enough to be right on the water. If you don't have a home right the lake itself, you can still enjoy it, as Wood Lake has a playground and a club house right along the shore, also in the heart of the community. Makes a great place to relax and enjoy the afternoon.

 Homes for sale in Wood Lake in Columbia, SC start off in the low $200's and most of the homes are over 2,000 square feet. Wood Lake is an excellent community for anyone looking for a new home in the Northeast Columbia area. So if you think that now might be the right time for you to make your next move, then I suggest you stop by Wood Lake and see what this wonderful community has to offer.

Chapin, SC Homes for Sale - Lakeport on Lake Murray

 Located just off of Johnson Marina Road in Chapin, SC, you'll find the beautiful community of Lakeport. A gorgeous Lake Access community with a neighborhood dock, pool, and cabana. Lakeport is located close to shopping, dinning, entertainment, I-26 and is of course located right on Lake Murray.

 With about 35 lots left for custom building, and several lots remaining for carriage homes, Lakeport provides home buyers with tons of choices. Carriage homes feature granite counter tops, hardwood floors, crown moldings, tile in the bathrooms and kitchens, and most floor plans have the master down stairs. Carriage homes in Lakeport start around $300,000 with a $2,000 a year regime fee. This covers of course all the community amenities as well as lawn care for a truly worry free lifestyle with access to wonderful Lake Murray.

 Just imagine strolling through your beautiful new community without a care in the world other than whether you should lay by the pool or relax on the dock by the lake.

 If the Carriage Homes don't sound like your cup of tea, then you can always build a custom home with your choice of builder after you purchase a home site. Home sites in Lakeport start around $35,000 and range all the way to just over $380,000 from some select home sites that are right on Lake Murray itself. So whether you are looking a great lot at a great price, a lot with Lake View, or you want to build your new home right on Lake Murray, you can do it all right here in Lakeport.

 So if you are in the market for a new home in Chapin, SC and you want to be on or right next to the lake, the maybe Lakeport is the place for you.

We as real estate professionals have a wide variety of designations at our disposal. Anything from Graduates of the Realtor Institute, to Certified Residential Specialists, to Certified Green Home Specialists. Any of these designations can certainly prove that you have taken the time to go beyond the average training to receive greater education in your field.

 But there is now designation for integrity, and all the letters in the world following your name will be useless with out it. We as Realtors have a code of ethics and at the very least claim to hold ourselves to a higher standard of practice by becoming a Realtor rather than just an agent. But even the code of ethics itself can sometimes remain open for interpretation and doesn't ensure that even a Realtor is truly acting in the very best interests of their clients.

 There are no classes available that will teach you morality. There are no seminars that will show you how to do the right thing where your clients are concerned. This is simple though, you just have to remember the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Regardless of how you justify your stance on a given situation, every legally sane human on the planet knows the difference between right and wrong.

 You know when you are acting in the best interest of your clients to protect them and put them first. After working with you for a short period of time, they will know whether or not you are working for them or yourself as well. Always put your clients needs first. It's the best way to truly show them that they are receiving the representation that they deserve. You might not get letters next to your name for doing it, but you will get something just as important. Happy Client!

 I don't know a single person that has started any business with failing as a large part of their plan. In fact, everyone who has ever started any business has planned the exact opposite. They have planned to succeed and most of them started out with the hopes that they and their business would be wildly successful.

 Unfortunately not all of them are and in the greater scheme of things you are more likely to fall flat on your face than you are to become the next great success story. However, if you fear laying it on the line and throwing all your chips on the table, then chances are you'll never see that wild success that you dream of. At some point you will have to truly take a leap of faith and stop holding back. You have to admire the all or nothing people that have no fear of throwing away the training wheels and running headfirst into the fight.

 Some of the most successful people I have ever known were also some of the largest risk takers I had ever met. In no way, shape, or form do I believe this was by coincidence. If you want to be successful in this life you have to be willing to take the risks that will help you get to where you want to be. Those who create great success usually only do so because they were willing to risk a great failure in the process.

 Not everything you try will work out for you, but chances are you will never know what would or would not work until you are willing to try. Yes, you could fall flat on your face, but you did that much more than you remember when you were learning to walk. You could fall flat, or you could achieve something great, but until you are willing to take the risk, you will never know. And isn't the curiosity killing you?

 Like everyone else in the world, I too wish I could have it all. The truth of the matter is that it just doesn't work that way most of the time. So if you are planning on selling your current home and buying new home, you have to be aware of the fact that you can't buy low and sell high at the same time.

 If you are planning to put your home on the market in the hopes of buying a larger home at a reduced price,you have to be willing to accept that the house you sell will be at a reduced price as well. It's just way things work and if you think about it for a moment then it makes perfect sense.

 The good news is that it usually balances out pretty well. In Columbia, SC the high end market is the market that's slow and has the most reductions. So what you give up in the sell of your current house you more than make up in the purchase of your new home. You may have to sell your house for $5,000 less, but you can get a new home for $20,000 less than you would have been able to at the height of the market.

 The best thing to do is take a close look at the market, price your house right, and do the math. You may give up a little on one, but you can really gain on the other.

  It's rare that you will find me not listening to music. The fact of the matter is that as long as I can remember I have loved all kinds. I even play guitar myself, mostly oldies like Bob Dylan, but I also dabble in a little more modern tunes.

 Few of us can say that we haven't been touched by the gift of music in one way or another in our lives. Music can move us in so many ways and evoke thoughts and emotions like few other forms of art.

 Almost everyone has a favorite radio station, and if are like me, that station is local. Mine is WXRY right here in downtown Columbia, SC. They play a mix of music, but mostly Alternative and that appeals to me.

 Now Congress has been nice enough to propose a radio performance tax that would tax radio stations for playing music. This proposed tax would be direct attack on the finances of local radio stations my favorite and I'm not sure how the little guys would manage to stay afloat should this Bill pass Congress.

 What do I suggest, leave the music alone and let it be free my friends. For years radio stations have played music for free much to the delight of listeners and music fans from all walks of life. And now I am threatened with static from my speakers as a result of the bankruptcy of those that bestow these musical miracles upon us.

 To find out more to get involved, Please visit www.noperformancetax.org and find out how you can tell Congress to leave my music alone.

 My Grandfather watches the Price is Right all the time. It's been one of his favorite shows for as long as I can remember and I had to endure it many times as a child. There was one particular game that was played by contestants that comes to mind when I think about real estate. Remember the game where there was a row of products and the contestant had to pick the right price for each product and if they got it wrong they lost?

 Well guess what, that says a lot about pricing a home for sale. You have to pick the right price if you want it to sell. Otherwise, you get to hear that incredibly annoying buzzer and the sigh of the crowd that lets you know you just lost. That buzzer represents your home for sale expiring from the market.

 If you don't price your home right, then there is little to no chance that the home will sell. Especially this day and age. Other sellers have learned how to be realistic and more importantly, they are not playing games. They are attempting to sell a house. So if you want your house to sell, I strongly suggest that you think long and hard about the Price is Right and how many people walked away disappointed because they didn't get it right.

 As always, pricing a home for sale is something of a guessing game. But you can be prepared by taking a look at comparable homes that have already sold in the area. Based on those homes that have actually sold, you can come up with a realistic price that will give you the best opportunity to avoid the sound of a sighing crowd and a blaring buzzer as you walk away empty handed.