Monday Morning Coffee

Hello all,

“Short Sales”

Everyone get their heads out of their hands, whether we want to or not we need to talk about it every so often. As we went through the spring short sales were about 20%-25% of the business in the office. Heading into the slower fall and winter months it looks like it will be around 50%. Not so much because the short sales are picking up but because the normal sales are slowing down, we currently have 47 short sale contracts in the office. We all need to eat during the winter so we need to embrace short sales one way or another. The somewhat good news is the short sale process of today is not the short sale process of two years ago, especially with the help of a company like ATC. I am going to use a recent example from Lisa’s pipeline. Referral call comes in from a client, friend of theirs is in trouble and would like Lisa to meet them. Lisa meets with prospective client and explains the process, puts client in touch with ATC. ATC (no charge to the client) goes through everything with the client and helps them to get the package together for the bank. Lisa meets with client again to get listing papers together, property is listed. Contract comes in and is ratified with the seller, contract sent to ATC. At this point Lisa is 95% done and free to work towards getting more business instead of trying to negotiate with the banks. ATC will send weekly updates to all parties involved and the deal should realistically settle in 60-90 days from contract. It just does not get any easier then that so if you get a lead from your pipeline please do not shy away. If you need any further help please do not hesitate to ask.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe     

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Learning is the fountain of youth.
No matter how old you are,
You mustn't stop growing."
 

- Taoist Meditation, Deng Ming-Dao

KEEP A YOUNG MIND!

Don't believe the phrase "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Creativity isn't only for artists, writers, or musicians. Creativity isn't just what is represented by a canvas or a novel or a song. We can all be creative in our own way, and the most common way that we can all do this is through learning.

As long as we continue to learn and to try new things, we keep our minds fresh and young, and we engage in the act of "creating ourselves" continually. Today's world presents plenty of opportunities for learning, especially about the environment, other cultures, and technology. Technology itself provides ever-easier ways of accessing knowledge through computers and the Internet. And no one is too young or too old to start!

Look around you at the most vital and energetic seniors you know. What do they have in common? A continuing interest in learning and sharing their knowledge and experience with others - so they are engaged constantly in the process. They keep their minds challenged and young, and in so doing, feel younger in body and spirit. They are certainly different than in their youth, but they continue the learning that began there.

Each new phase of our lives brings us new challenges and opportunities for growth. Growing older necessarily means learning new things. We are constantly creating ourselves in this way, and we can adapt ourselves to any situation by that continuing act of creativity that keeps us young.