Archive for December, 2008

Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | December 28th, 2008 0 Comments

My New Years Resolutions…will this year really be any different?

Happy New Year MOJO,

As we start a New Year this week lets all make a commitment to turn up the heat at least one more degree in 2009 and see what happens. So many times in life the gap between what we have and what we want seems so far apart…but most of the time it is not nearly as far apart as we think. Click this link, watch the video and then turn up YOUR heat at least one degree to make 2009 your best year yet!!!!

http://www.walkthetalk.com/the212movie.php?refsource=vm212prairie

Here are 5 Simple Tricks to Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions…HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

1. Get specific

A vague goal is as useful as no goal at all…general ideas about what you want give you nothing to work with and nowhere to go. It’s only when you get specific about what you want that the path to success is revealed. Take time to narrow down your resolutions into specific ideas and turn your vague goals into crystal-clear goals.

2. Spread the word

Don’t keep your goals all to yourself. The more you share your goals with others, the more life you give to those goals. It gives them the chance to grow and gain momentum. So, tell at least two other people about your goals, and be sure not to make the mistake of giving without receiving; spend just as much time listening to ideas as you did in sharing your own.

3. Buddy up

When it comes to living a better life, few things are as powerful or persuasive as a living, breathing human being. Books, tapes, etc. can help you along, but nothing can compare to one-on-one interaction. The buddy system is one of the most effective goal-achievement tools you can use. By partnering with a goal-seeker, you’ll have all the support you need to achieve anything you set your mind to.

4. Burn the bridge

While preparing his next book, a famous writer listed his weight at fifty pounds lighter than reality. Not only that, but he did so knowing full well that only months after publication he would be paraded in front of thousands of his biggest fans. Why? To burn the bridge of easy escape. He knew he needed to lose the weight, but he also knew he would give up on the goal without any pressure to follow through. By promising his public a fifty-pound weight loss, he had no choice but to achieve the goal. What steps can you take today to burn the bridge of an easy escape and commit yourself to living a better life?

5. Do something – NOW

As they say, there’s no better time than the present, and when it comes to living a better life, they couldn’t be more right. The true power of taking one small step comes not in the small step of progress you’ll make, but in the act of doing something about the things you want. As you know, getting started is often the most difficult part of the process. Millions of people dream, but few actually ever take action…and that is why it is critical that you do something today. Think of one small step you can take right now that will bring you closer to accomplishing your goal and once you have it in mind, DO IT!!!!!! Don’t think about it…don’t consider it…JUST DO IT NOW!!!!!!

Happy New Year,


Technology for 2009

By Intero Real Estate | December 22nd, 2008 0 Comments

Article Offers Technology Checklist for New Year

Michael Antoniak offers a technology checklist for 2009 in January’s issue of REALTOR® Magazine.

Among the must-haves for many real estate agents: mobile phones, computers, digital cameras and navigation solutions, he says.

For phones, Antoniak says a smartphone is the best choice for many agents. He notes the latest iPhone and Blackberry Bold as well as the Motorola Motozine ZN5, which was unveiled as a “mobile imaging device good enough to replace a digital still camera.”

On computers, he says a notable trend is the additional selection of ultra-compact mobile computers. Some examples, Antoniak says, are the Lenovo IdeaPad S-10, Dell Inspiron Mini-9 and the Asus Eee PC 900.

The selection for cameras with wide-angle capabilities is growing, he says, and the article identifies Nikon’s Coolpix P80 because it has a zoom for highlighting features and a wide-angle setting that allows an entire room to be photographed.

Lastly, on navigation systems, he identifies hardware systems, like Sony’s Nav-U line, but also says that more GPS functions likely will be built into other hardware or provided as a service.

Click here for the full report.

See Also


Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | December 21st, 2008 0 Comments

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas MOJO,

I have shared this video before, but it seemed perfect to share again for Christmas…it will put a smile on your face. Amazingly over 35,000,000 people have viewed it and over 100,000 have given it 5 out of 5 stars on YouTube.  Think about it…there is obviously something here people are looking for if that many people are watching it.  Make sure you give it to them over the holidays…such a simple thing can have such a HUGE impact!!!!!!!

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!!!!!!

See Also


Housing Market Report

By Intero Real Estate | December 18th, 2008 0 Comments

New report focuses on turbulent year in California housing market

The housing market in California experienced a turbulent year in 2008, with improved home sales, lower home prices, and the financial market meltdown. That’s according to a report by the California Association of Realtors®, the “State of the California Housing Market 2008-2009” that was released this week.

Here are some of the report’s findings:

  • Almost one of five sellers sold their property because their property was in foreclosure, short sales, or default.
  • The number of sellers who sold their home with a loss hit a record-setting 22.2 percent.
  • The median price of existing homes, including single-family homes, condos and town homes, dropped by nearly 18 percent to $440,000 in 2008. A year earlier, the median price was $535,000.

“The market will continue to experience large year-to-year decreases in the coming months before leveling out in 2009. The statewide median price is expected to decline 31.7 percent to $381,000 for 2008, the first decline since 1996. The statewide median price will further decline by 6 percent in 2009 to $358,000,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young.

C.A.R. says sales generally improved over last year, after two years of declines exceeding 20 percent. In 2008, annual sales are expected to increase 12 percent, with a further 12.5 percent annual increase projected for 2009.

C.A.R. President James Liptak says that the share of first-time buyers increased from 30.4 percent in 2007 to 35.9 percent in 2008. That’s well below the peak levels in the 1990s, when half of the market consisted of first-timers, Liptak says.

See Also


Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | December 14th, 2008 0 Comments

The 2 minute drill

Good Morning MOJO,

I was watching a little football yesterday and it’s interesting how 2 teams can play for 58 minutes, but in the end, most the time the game is decided by which team is best in the final 2 minutes. It is the team that can suck it up when they are beaten up and tired that end up being the winners. 

Just like football, it’s the final 2 minutes that determine the winners and the losers at almost everything in life.  Everything we do up until that last 2 minutes just keeps us in the game and gives us a chance to win.  Well…we are in the final 2 minutes of 2008, and the winners of 2008 will be determined by what we do between now and the end of the year.  I know everyone is tired and everyone needs a break…me too, but it’s those few who can dig deep, remain discipline and push through the pain that will finish up 2008 the winners.  Now don’t’ get me wrong, I am all for spending time over the holidays with friends and family…I am all for having some fun, but I just see so many people take their foot off the gas at Thanksgiving and coast into the end of the year.  And then once January 1st hits, they are at a dead stop.  Then it’s really not until the middle or end of January before they are back into “game shape”. 

As I said, I am for taking a couple of days off over Thanksgiving…taking a couple of days off over Christmas and taking a couple of days off over New Years, but I am not for taking off the entire 4th quarter of the game…I am up for finishing the game of 2008 strong.  This applies to everything in life…from our jobs, to our health, to our spirituality, to our relationships…everything!!!!!  The beautiful part is if you are one of the few who chose to finish the game of 2008 strong there will be a lot less competition…everyone else will be sleeping…everyone else will be taking the final 2 minutes off.   And because there are a lot less people in the game in the final 2 minutes of the year, it makes it a lot easier to score.

Have a powerful week and finish 2008 STRONG!!!!!!!


Economic Rescue

By Intero Real Estate | December 11th, 2008 0 Comments

NAR presses Congress on housing stimulus package

The National Association of REALTORS® this week sent Congress a letter urging it to pass a housing stimulus package to help stabilize the housing market.

“As home values continue to decrease in many markets and job losses escalate, homeowners needing to refinance their mortgage or sell their home are left with few options and are sometimes forced to walk away from their mortgage responsibilities,” NAR President Charles McMillan said.

NAR says a federal mortgage interest buy-down program is needed. The program, NAR says, should come from the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. McMillan says that the buy-down program would offer an incentive for people to buy homes and that would reduce the number of houses on the market. That would make home values more stable, ease foreclosure pressure and increase home sales activity, McMillan says.

NAR also has pushed the federal government to make sure that safe and affordable mortgages are available for homeowners. And, it has advocated that a $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers be extended to all homebuyers. 

See Also


Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | December 7th, 2008 0 Comments

What are the Big Rocks in my life…put those in the jar first

Good Morning MOJO,

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of successful business people.  To drive home a point, he used an illustration they will never forget.

As he stood in front of the group of high-powered over achievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz" and he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the audience yelled, "Yes."

The time management expert replied, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time this successful group of business people where on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the audience shouted. Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One person raised her hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is if you do not put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all. What are the ‘big rocks’ in your life, time with your loved ones, your health, your faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you will never get them in at all. So, today when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the big rocks in my life? Then, put those in your jar first."

Make it a powerful week!!!


A Look Ahead

By Intero Real Estate | December 4th, 2008 0 Comments

RISMedia.com article takes a look ahead at 2009; Blefari featured

A recent article at RISMedia.com notes some of the changes that have taken place in the real estate industry in 2008 and offers some insight into how business will be conducted next year.

For example, the article says that it is important that real estate agents know that “overall economic health is far down the road.”

When it comes to consumer confidence, Ron Peltier, chairman and CEO of HomeServices of America, says it is the job of the real estate industry to ensure that consumers “understand that real estate is still a smart investment,” the article says.

The story also says that for successful brokers and agents, cost cutting is a “highly creative and refined process.” That’s where Intero President and Founder Gino Blefari comes in to the story.

The article quotes the comments he made during RISMedia’s recent 13th Annual Power Broker Forum. During the forum, he said he cut $1 million from his budget. On his list of ways to save, he said he got rid of the “exotic coffee machines” and became a “green operation,” the article said.

Talk about green initiatives will become even more prominent in 2009, the RISMedia article says.

Carson Matthews, a Realtor with Harry Norman Realtors, an Atlanta-based company had this to say:

“It’s our job as stewards of the environment, but also as real estate agents, to educate our clients about what they can do in the homes that they’re buying and/or selling to help this cause.”

Click here to read the full article.

See Also