Christian Real Estate Professionals : February 2012

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...!!!

Some of you will recall the story I posted a couple of weeks ago about the "Reno Occupy" squatter who broke into one of my REOs, changed the locks, and moved in his "street art" furniture.  I met him at the door while on the phone with police.  He was ultimately removed from the house, and later my staff removed his abandoned furniture.  THE GREAT NEWS IS THE PROPERTY HAS NEW OWNERS.

Do you believe in the theory of EVOLUTION...???

In addition to Darwin’s THEORY OF EVOLUTION there are some other theories that have been adopted by PROGRESSIVES to ‘persuade’ (read bamboozle) the gullible to see things their way: Darwin’s theory of ‘NATURAL SELECTION’...

The dictionary definition of ‘NATURAL SELECTION’ reads: ...the process by which those individuals with characteristics that help them become adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their characteristics.

AND SO...our leftist, progressive, conspiracy theory friends, in an effort to gain acceptance and additional herd members have changed that idea of theirs originally known as GLOBAL WARMING to CLIMATE CHANGE and more recently are using URBANIZATION as their latest ‘code word’ to push their agenda ahead...

If you don’t believe me, check your kids homework, and you’ll verify what I just said...Our teachers are the biggest culprits trying to brainwash our children into accepting their liberal, secular, and misinformed agendas...

You see, we keep catching on to their deceptions, while they keep refusing to acknowledge the scientific opposition to their propositions...!!! In an almost childish manner...they keep wanting to ‘GET THEIR WAY’...NO MATTER WHAT...!!!

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t indict all teachers...only those who fall for this line of deceptions...Certainly, there are still plenty of God Fearing, seriously concerned, professional mentors who see through these ‘smoke and mirror’ tactics and do their own ‘homework’ to circumvent these educational mine fields so as to protect our children and guide them to safe harbors...!!!

Personally, I like to use the age old remedy to education: The parents are the primary educators of their children, and by discussion, example, and discipline each child will be exposed to THE TRUTH...FIRST BY PARENTS, then, hopefully, by a responsible education system...

As for me and my house...WE WILL SERVE THE LORD...Joshua 24:15, and since THE LORD is THE TRUTH...it is HE who will set us free...!!!

I’m still a firm believer that kids CRAVE DISCIPLINE...and true discipline requires sincere disciples that preach and teach TRUTH...!!!

LORD, help me to evolve from a sinner to a saint...and my household as well...!!!

Have a great weekend...!!!