Christian Real Estate Professionals

I was reflecting recently on my ancestors leaving their homeland in ITALY some 106 years ago...!!!

Actually, my Grandfather, whom I never met (he died when my father was 10 years old), landed at Ellis Island on March 17, 1906...!!!

How ironic, I thought, to have landed on the shores of a New Land on the feast of Saint Patrick, patron Saint of The Irish, who would be the main group to ridicule and taunt this next generation of Italian Immigrants as they settled their families in this great Country of ours...!!!

It was the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the hay day of the Industrial Revolution, and America was enacting special immigration laws making it easy for laborers, skilled and unskilled, to assist them in developing this land of opportunity...Railroad Systems, Steel Plants, Automobiles, Airplanes, Tool Manufacturing, Road and Bridge building...and occupations which would support these new industries...Tailors, Barbers, Butchers, Bakers, Farmers, Grocers, etc...

AMERICA, was indeed extending its arms of WELCOME to this latest wave of Immigrants from the Italian Nation...

Why did our ancestors leave such a beautiful place in North Central Italy to risk resettling their families in a New Land and giving up the Culture of centuries of their ancestors...???

Remember, in the early 20th Century most people in the World were still illiterate, uneducated, unable to read or write, and were being asked to make the switch from a rural, farm based, bucolic existence to a factory, assembly line based, capital driven system...

Since this post is not intended to be a treatise on the merits or downsides of labor, industry, progress, capitalism, unionism, or the like...suffice it to say that many of these illiterate immigrants may have turned out to be prophets...

Could they have been listening to that ‘wee, small voice’,so characteristic of how God often answers prayer...??? Were they being motivated by a desire to join the adventure, promise, prosperity, freedom, and hope that this new land, AMERICA, offered...

I like to believe that these simple, hard working, family oriented, religious ancestors of mine kept The Lord at the CENTER OF THEIR LIVES...and made decisions reflecting those priorities...

In any event, in coming to AMERICA, they avoided 2 World Wars, both fought on their former soil, a world wide flu epidemic which took the lives of millions of Europeans, Fascism, Nazism, Communism, Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin...!!!

It seems that as long as we keep God at THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES, we don’t succumb to dumb science, false hope, materialism, diabolic schemes and the like...

The God Whom We Worship is also not without a sense of humor, however...our youngest child, ASHLEY SIENA, was born on August 28...8:28...One of my favorite Scripture Passages from the Book Of Romans...

As we prepare to celebrate the Baptism of our youngest Grandchild, the newest Gaspari, MACLYN JANE, this Sunday...COINCIDENCE...??? OR DIVINE PROVIDENCE...!!!

Have a great weekend...!!!

If you are looking for a Pullman Investment property, this Tri-Plex conveniently located on Pioneer Hill with walking distance to downtown Pullman and Washington State University is one you will want to see!  Off Street Parking.  Total Rents:  1995.00  Extensive remodeling.

2 Bedroom 1 Bath with
Kitchen & Bath Remodeled
2 Bedroom 1 Bath with Fireplace, Remodeled Bathroom, Walk In Closet, W/D  
1 Bedroom 1 Bath

For more information about Lori see her profiles at: Lori Cofer's Businessweek profile; Lori Cofer's Google profile; Lori Cofer's Lookup Page and Lori Cofer's Naymz profile.  Feel free to read her helpful articles on New Construction in Pullman WA; Info about Pullman WA; More Helpful Info about Pullman WA; Info About the Pullman WA schools Info About the Pullman-Moscow Bill Chipman Trail; Ten Easy Ways to Improve Your Curb Appeal For Sellers; Five Tips on Buying Your New Pullman Home; More Tips for Buyers; and Tips on Building Your New Custom Pullman WA Home.

If you enjoyed my post, why not connect with me elsewhere?

 

About Lori Cofer Find my Pullman dream home What is my home worth? Help me relocate! Contact Lori Cofer

 

 

Recently I had a buyer phone me who had already decided which community he wanted to reside.  He phoned me to show him a listing in that community; it wasn’t my listing but, one that he had found on my website so, he presumed it was my listing.  He refused my offer to view other properties in the area.  He also confirmed that he is not working with a real estate agent and that he had already spoken with Joe Lender and had a pre-approval letter in-hand.  

Sounds like the perfect buyer candidate, right?

So I referred him to one of our agents who specializes in this particular area.  This agent took time out of an already jam-packed day, to show this gorgeous high-end property to the perspective buyer.  I knew this agent would land him because of the wealth of knowledge this agent possesses about that particular area.

I set the showing up for the agent and ‘introduced’ the two (buyer and agent) and felt confident that, based upon the buyer’s preferences, this was the perfect home for he and his family.

Shortly after showing time, I received a call from the agent telling me that the buyer loved the home but, that he was going to be using HIS agent!  When my agent suggested that the buyer had confirmed with both of us the previous day that he was not working with an agent, he stated, “I’m so sorry.  I told a little white lie!  I didn’t want to ‘bother’ my agent to have to show me homes.”

Really?  So, your agent is going to make TENS of thousands of dollars on a transaction with you when you do ultimately purchase a home but, you don’t think that he or she should have to actually WORK for it?

Writing an Offer and orchestrating Due Diligence is only HALF of what we do!  You think that YOUR agent shouldn’t be bothered but, it’s okay to bother mine, who will not get a DIME out of your transaction?  

We are NOT professional door-openers!  We represent our buyers to the fullest extent including any and all fiduciary duties.  Because you were basically representing yourself in the viewing of this home, ANYTHING that you said to my agent about this property, can and will be shared with the SELLER as my agent is legally representing the SELLER, not you.  

So, if you suggested in passing that you believe that the list price is fair and you revealed that you qualify for more than the list price to my agent, that information, going straight to the SELLER, does not benefit you at all when you present an Offer on that particular home.  Anything that you disclosed, inadvertently or not, can and will be used against you by not simply phoning YOUR agent who is representing YOUR best interests!

The same goes for every other agent that you ‘used’ to show you homes that wasn’t your own.  Your agent represents YOU.  Why on EARTH would you choose NOT to use YOUR AGENT to represent YOU?

The next time you want to view a property, protect your wallet and call YOUR agent.  Believe me, they’re adequately compensated and they are there to represent your best interests, not the sellers.

 

      

  Charlotte NC Homes for Sale

 (THE best Charlotte home search available - no kidding!)

Debe Maxwell, CRS/Realtor®/Broker
Broker@TheCharlotteScoop.com
Phone (704) 491-3310

     

  

 

    

      

       

 

         

   

Disclosure of material contained within.

Don’t fall for the left’s consistent use of 'CLASS WARFARE' to divide us as a Nation...!!!

The terms MIDDLE CLASS, WOMEN’S VOTE, CATHOLIC VOTE, INDEPENDENTS, EVANGELICALS, WALL STREET, MAIN STREET, etc...all methods intended to divide us as a Nation...!!!

Let’s face it...OBAMACARE, the 3000 page assault on PERSONAL FREEDOM has already received plenty of legitimate criticism, and the federally enacted ‘HEALTH PLAN’ hasn’t even been implemented yet...

Forget rising fuel prices, still unacceptable employment levels, inflationary food prices, declining property values, dependence on foreign oil, skyrocketing national debt...our current President should be unelectable purely on the matter of OBAMACARE...!!!

This should be his signature disqualifier...!!!

The current administration is attempting to amass various ‘voting blocks’ to gain reelection...!!!

I say we should step up to the plate and vote as AMERICANS...the hell with left, right, progressive, liberal, Republican, Democrat, male, female, black, Hispanic, and other labels which divide us...

We are great as a Nation because we have taken various cultures, ethnic differences, religious tolerance, work ethic, and other virtuous qualities and MELTED them together into a soup or stew we call AMERICAN...THIS IS WHAT UNITES US...!!!

Please don’t allow us to be manipulated at the voting booth...four more years of this divisiveness flexes our AMERICAN MUSCLE to the breaking point...

Refuse to be ‘LABELLED’ and nicely and conveniently compartmentalized for political gain...!!!

STAND UNITED IN PURPOSE...PROMOTE UNITY AMIDST DIVERSITY...!!!

That’s what has made AMERICA great, and that’s what will keep us great...CHANGE WE CAN TRUST...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

I recently did some research on the ‘Oath Of Office’ government employees are required to take, and found some interesting items:

Item 1...Here is the OATH OF OFFICE required by our Constitution that every federal employee must take: 

I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

Item 2...Here is the OATH OF OFFICE specific to The President Of The United States:

Article II includes the specific oath the President takes - to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Here then is my dilemma.......

Who enforces these oaths if it is felt that they have been violated...???

Have the various CZARS appointed by our President taken these oaths...???

Why are there so many ongoing ‘attacks’ on our Constitution from so many various groups that seem hell bent to destroy us...Starting with Our Bill of Rights, which sets forth the inalienable rights that come from God, i.e. Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit Of Happiness...Our First amendment rights to Freedom Of Religion, Freedom Of Speech...Our Second Amendment’s Right To Keep and Bear Arms...???

In any event, when there is an attack on Our Constitution, isn’t it The President’s duty to ‘Preserve, protect, and defend’ from any and all enemies ‘foreign and domestic’ these attacks...and whose responsibility is it to ‘ENFORCE’ that The President fulfills those obligations...???

These are important questions demanding answers...!!!

We pay Congress to work for us, and The Supreme Court to do the same, and also The Department of Justice...

Which branch is shirking its responsibilities...???

The government has already compromised the RIGHT TO LIFE as Dr. Ron Paul reminds us when a baby one day old has The RIGHT TO LIFE, but one day before it is born that same baby’s RIGHT TO LIFE is denied...!!!

When 11 of the 24 Catholic Senators recently opposed a vote for religious liberty, even properly formed consciences come into question...!!!

If this doesn’t demand our persistent prayer, I don’t know what does...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

Charlotte  NC Home Sellers:  Do You Know Who Your Agent is Working For?

With a full schedule these past few weeks, I have been taking buyers out to tour our beautiful city.  Relocation clients moving to town are learning about Charlotte and all that she has to offer newcomers.

One of my favorite things to do is to introduce buyers to neighborhoods that are ‘just what they’re looking for.’  When I’m showing buyers homes, they’re poised to BUY a home.  This is not fire drill or practice run…these are REAL buyers who have been transferred to our area and NEED to buy a home.

The unbelievably biggest obstacle that I have had to overcome in recent weeks is being ignored by listing agents.  I have serious questions to answer for my SERIOUS buyers and they need answers NOW!  This is frustrating any time but, when you have BUYERS who are ready to make a decision as to whether or not to purchase YOUR home, and your agent is not returning phone calls to answer our questions, my buyers move on.

One agent finally phoned me 72 hours after my call to let me know that she couldn’t remember my question (even though she had just listened to my voicemails) but, that she was overloaded (HER word, not mine!) at her full-time job–NOT in real estate!

Have you ever tried to purchase a product or enlist someone to perform a service and had them ignore your questions?  I have and I quickly move on to the next one on the list.  My take on this…If you’re trying to sell something and you won’t return my calls, then what happens when I finally do purchase it from you?  Are you going to be impossible to reach for follow-up, warranty work or other questions?

Sellers, this is the same exact concept my buyers are thinking now.  In fact, from the mouth of one of my buyers, “Hey, if they don’t want to sell, we’d rather buy from someone who DOES want to sell!”    I couldn’t agree more.

Sellers, are YOUR agents returning their calls?

Agents, don’t you want to SELL your listings?  If your full time job is interfering with selling your clients most valuable material possession, I’d say it’s time to refer that seller to someone who actually has the time AND the inclination to properly represent their clients.

Read more: http://www.icharlotterealestate.com/charlotte-home-sellers-who-is-your-agent-working-for/#ixzz1nXNOxcE8

 

      

  Charlotte NC Homes for Sale

 (THE best Charlotte home search available - no kidding!)

Debe Maxwell, CRS/Realtor®/Broker
Broker@TheCharlotteScoop.com
Phone (704) 491-3310

     

  

 

    

      

       

 

         

   

Disclosure of material contained within.

    Their flyer was titled: “Free Market-Info Community Services Event” and they drew a packed house at the South Valleys Public Library in Reno.

    The awesome ladies and one fine man were four of my my Realtors at Dreams Realty: Elise Westerlund, Mary Mihaila, Angeles Wanco, and Claire & Shawn Kirby.  The five of them took community outreach to heart, and developed a wonderful 90-minute evening seminar for the local community.

    They had made arrangements with local Attorneys, a Certified Public Accountant, and a Mortgage Lender, (where Spanish speaking translators were available), and scheduled the event not as a real estate sales or promotional event, but as a true community services informational event with a Q/A session with the professionals. 

    The Attorneys covered loan modifications, state mediation, the pros and cons of short sales & foreclosures, deed in lieu, and information on one of Nevada’s laws that went into effect last October and hugely impacted REO in the state. 

    The CPA (and a crowd favorite) spoke about tax consequences, 2012 capital gains tax and the IRS, and Exemption Law through 2012.  The Mortgage Lender discussed Hamp 2.0, HARP, how quickly can you buy after short sales and foreclosures, and their overall credit implications.

    Finally, my team of exceptional Realtors presented information on the process of short sales, foreclosures, and loan modifications.

My SHOUT OUT to my Realtors is to ACKNOWLEDGE AND APPLAUD THEIR TENACITY AND CREATIVITY IN PUTTING TOGETHER AN ATTRACTIVE FLYER THEY CIRCULATED THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, AND WORKING WITH THE LOCAL LIBRARY TO SCHEDULE AND PUT ON THE EVENT.

KUDOS TO MY FOUR AWESOME LADIES…and ONE FINE MAN!

I am an Italian American Catholic male...I  believe in feminism...With three daughters and four granddaughters, each of whom I love specially and dearly, how could I NOT be a feminist...???

My purpose for writing this post is to beg some prominent CHRISTIAN FEMINISTS to come forward and boldly make a case for the difference between SECULAR FEMINISM which tears apart the moral fabric of a true Judeo Christian society, and REAL CHRISTIAN FEMINISM which espouses conservative Christian family values, virtue, and morality...

As the French would say...VIVA LA DIFFERENCE...!!!

We have an upcoming election where it appears that the ‘FEMALE VOTE’ may be the swing vote that ultimately determines who’s agenda will be carried out both in the White House and both halls of Congress...!!!

Now is the time for all good women to come to the aid of their country...!!!

Without throwing support to any specific candidate, TRUE FEMINISTS need to support the men who are campaigning as candidates for our next president...!!!

True feminism draws the lines of demarcation clearly to divide selfishness from selflessness...!!! True feminists are ‘othercentered’...secular feminists are ‘selfcentered’...!!! True feminists are ‘partners in progress’...secular feminists seek to promote themselves and their ‘godless’ agendas...!!!

AGAIN, my intention for writing these thoughts is not to speak for others or put my opinions on the lips of others, but rather to elicit from the many strong, wise, intelligent, and caring women who I have either personally known, or whose writings or views I have become acquainted with, to provide personal witness that Christian Feminism is more mainstream in America than the secular feminism we see portrayed by the media...

Several years ago when the debate about STEM CELL RESEARCH was in the mainstream, secularists and the media portrayed the CATHOLIC CHURCH as being opposed to STEM CELL RESEARCH...that was then, and is now, far from the truth...What the church was opposed to was ‘EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH’ which was a disguised form of abortion...BTW, that type of research has never brought about any positive medical results, while ADULT STEM CELL RESEARCH (very much encouraged by The Church), has shown many positive health care results...!!!

The secularists and the media are trying to do the same thing today by their attempt to cloak in the word ‘CONTRACEPTION’ a negative blanketing of The Catholic Church’s real teaching...Under their use of the word ‘CONTRACEPTION’ are included abortifacients (drugs and appliances which do not prevent conception, but cause the fetus to be aborted AFTER CONCEPTION has taken place)...there is much more to this topic...

The Catholic Church has not changed its teaching on these matters, while, at the same time our government seems to be drifting away from our first amendment rights of freedom to worship and other freedoms...!!!

A sincere look at the Papal Encyclical ‘HUMANAE VITAE’, on Human Life, written in the 1960’s clearly restates The Church’s official position on these matters...For a brief summary for those with little time to read this, CLICK HERE...!!!

I believe that the majority of American women are God fearing, life loving, selfless, nurturing, and wise citizens of our beloved Country, and I encourage them to come forth and make themselves heard in this all important debate at this critical time in our nation’s history...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

UPDATE: I discovered this letter on Saturday morning while perusing The National Catholic Register...CLICK HERE...!!!

It's always exciting to promote great talent to positions where she/he can achieve personal success and business achievement.  Today I officially promoted one of my truly loving Realtors to be the Manager of my Property Management Program. 

Bonnie is licensed in California and Nevada, and is a lover of animals, knows them as family, and seeks to find rentals to accommodate the "family pet" and the children as well. 

Welcome, Bonnie Star; you really are a "star" to all of us, and yes, we expect great things out of you, and are confident you'll be rockstar material!  Congrats from me, and Dr. John!

February is Black History Month...!!!

I’m trying to figure out why, in a Country where 24% of the population claims to be Catholic, only 3% of African Americans worship as Catholics...!!!

While I grew up in a typical second generation Italian American neighborhood, and I’m sorry to say I DID hear the ‘N’ word used from time to time, it always amazed me that there were so few blacks in our Church...!!!

Why was I amazed...???

From first grade on we were taught that discrimination against anyone of another race, creed, or ethnic background was sinful...The good sisters of the IHM made it perfectly clear...clear enough, in fact, that that ‘good news’ trumped any vestiges of discrimination left from the generation of our parents or grandparents...!!!

Still...it was difficult to shed some of the prejudices and stereotypes that surrounded us and the society of those days...For me, meeting, befriending, and appreciating on a one on one basis several black friends was my own personal ticket out of prejudice and into Christian brotherhood...!!!

Fast forwarding to the present day, my faith and my upbringing have conditioned me to accept people as they come...e.g. there are some Catholics, Italian Americans, Republicans, Democrats, Secular Feminists, Egotistical intellectuals, and others who I have come to dislike...however...my Faith, which I try to keep at the center of my life and family, insists that I LOVE EVEN THOSE...

NOW...one of my heroes has become SISTER THEA BOWMAN...Sister Thea has only recently become known to me, although she died in 1990...!!! A resident of Mississippi and a convert to Catholicism, Sister Thea broke many racial barriers in the Catholic Church in America. Proud of her African American heritage, the slavery of her ancestors, and the fight for equality for all her black ‘brethren’, Sister Thea became a Franciscan Nun, and through her singing, linguistical background, and educational ministries won many followers and admirers, both during her lifetime and even now...

A paraphrase of Sister Thea’s to a gathering Of The US Conference Of Catholic Bishops in 1989, just a year before she succumbed to cancer...’If you go into a room and you see a particular group not represented there, go out and invite them in’...In that short paraphrase Sister Thea underscored the Catholic Church’s claim to be ‘UNIVERSAL’ and ‘COLORBLIND’, and urged The Catholic Bishops to be sensitive to the various CULTURAL GIFTS that are often ignored by our Church and which gifts could greatly enhance our Worship To God...!!!

Sister Thea ‘FORCED’ Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes to admit that ‘BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL’

I write this post, not only to commemorate the memory of Sister Thea Bowman, but as an open invitation to those of African American heritage to come and Worship with us...We need your cultural diversity, your ardent enthusiasm, and your persevering Spirit...You may find that being ‘CATHOLIC IS BEAUTIFUL’...

I have entered a room in which I noticed there were many of you missing...WELCOME HOME...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!