Blog – Page 7 – Knoxville Real Estate Agent & Author

Keller Williams and the Search for THE BIG WHY (Part Two

The Big Why Not
Neil Diamond was singing ‘Sweet Caroline,’ but the scene was grim. A bald (balder than me) man with a vicious temperament was giving chase with a machete while his cohorts threw knives. As his weapon came down on my neck, I fled the dream and flew straight up in bed.

‘That’ll teach you to watch Indiana Jones right before bed and skip dinner!’ I told myself.

It was 2:30 a.m. and I wasn’t going back to sleep. I’d gone to sleep early because the night before was another too-early wake-up and I had been physically and mentally exhausted.

That was a beginning to a day that included bad news after bad news. But still I wasn’t too concerned….

My lack of concern began to concern my mom and dad, my friends who knew me best, but it was par for the course. Life isn’t easy and I what I claimed to be peace of mind was actually calm detachment masking an internal tempest.

When I sat in front of Chad Hyams in a hotel lobby in Chattanooga, TN and he read my corporate life assessment to me I was a bit crestfallen. He told me I wasn’t suited to what I ‘wanted’ to do. I’m a teacher, a therapist, a counselor and a friend – that’s the bad news. I’m not a task-oriented, focused director with an eye firmly planted on the goal. LOL – anyone who knows me could have told me that, but a highly respected, articulate and accomplished person whose opinion matters to me had just said I was a comforter instead of a the task master. In retrospect, he was just the messenger and a half heard the message.

We all learn through repetition, since college my assessments have always said I influence people through friendship and enthusiasm, but that is the depth of it. There has never been a laser point that I aimed toward.

I can hear Doris Day singing ‘Que Sera Sera’ in my head. She lives there sometimes, singing gayly hoping to be rescued in that Alfred Hitchcock movie I saw 10 years ago. That was a very good representation of my attitude. Change or die.

The Biggest Why
Possibly without them knowing I’ve interviewed many of my more driven brethren and…sistern(?) about what drives them. The bigger the why, the more basic and easily stated it has been.

‘My kid is smart, but scholarships don’t cover everything;’ ‘There’s no old REALTOR’s home, and if there was I wouldn’t want to live there anyway!’ ‘I have never seen Asia, I have to go before I die.’

The message of the old book the ‘Four Hour Work Week’ resonated with me. Automate so you can do what you want. The philosophy of Michael Maher’s Generosity Generation and his ‘Seven Levels of Communication’ were my favorites. I absorbed that book page after page then didn’t apply any of it. Book after book on goal setting, time blocking, giving your way to affluence, approachablility – walking around with a ‘Hello, My Name Is @KnoxvilleRob’ sticker was a funny and novel approach, not for me…

I already do what I want! Spend time with friends and their families, I make due and I always have something going. People come to me and it’s a good living. That was my personal philosophy, but I was a fool.

How can I be generous with my time, staring at a phone screen, how can I be generous with my funds on a limited budget? How can I positively influence people without accomplishing anything.

My big why isn’t going to Asia again, it isn’t being surface friends with my 3,000 Facebook pals, it’s being a genuine source of help to the real people in my life. 1) I have to have funds to take care of my parents who’ve seen me through 41 years of bumbling around and never failing to say they are proud of me and that they love me. 2) I’m going to be a dad – being single isn’t going to stop me. If I remarry and have a child naturally that’s great, if I adopt that’s great. If it’s a friend’s child who is hungry. Whatever the situation, I will be able to take care of some little person who needs a father and a mentor. 3) I will share my faith and philosophy as freely as my parents. I will help fund and be a Christian missionary. I will see the day when I know for certain that I have been a good and faithful servant of Jesus. If I get to the end without knowing I’d accomplished these three I’ll consider myself a heartbroken failure.

Since I was a kid I’ve said I wanted to be a dad. My dad and mom are paramount figures in life. They have exemplified all the love of God and have prayed and wept for me in the times when I needed it so bad; my Keller Williams family have shown me what they couldn’t – the foundations of business where systems and models provide a platform for my God-given creativity can flourish. Gary Keller’s chosen motto God, Family, Business sums it up! I didn’t want it to, but it did!

Keller Williams and the search for THE BIG WHY (Part 1)

Prologue
This has been an awful, no account, very bad day. If something doesn’t change it will be one in a string of them. This isn’t about work, real estate or houses of any sort, it’s about life in general and the pursuit of it.

The Search For My Big Why
I think whatever we allow to define us, if it doesn’t lead us toward something greater that we aspire to, then it will fail us. Being gorgeous or attractive, being loved by others, being popular or thought to be special in one way or another, we can’t control those things, they depend others and pretend they also that time doesn’t march along.

You and I (lol you may not even know me, but if you read on you may find we’ve got the same problem) have to find what we’re working toward ‘our big why’ and say not worry too much about the rest. If they choose to love us, help us, hate, hinder or admire us from a distance … whatever – it matters less than whatever that one big reason that you keep going toward. Someone I consider a friend recently talked about his ‘Big Why’ and how we all need one to keep on track, to work hard, to keep from giving up.

I’ve been groping with that, or carefully avoiding looking for it, for about eight years. In the meantime, a couple days ago one of my friends gave up on trying to control what we can’t control and had no big why. He ended his own life way too young. What a waste, we all said, but he gave up.

If not there is only a sunset on your way to achieving the undefined.

Another friend yesterday said that it was ‘do or don’t day’ for him, he’s either cranking up his career and life in full speed, or he’s going up find something else.

At KW, we’re constantly surrounded by those who are energetic, upbeat, helpful and successful – infusing my personal life with a sense of possibility and I realize that there is opportunity with every step I take – then I take that energy and run with it as far as it takes me. For so many of us that enthusiastic injection only lasts until we sit down and start to work only to allow our lack of direction to put us in a tailspin until the firecracker is spent.

By God, I’m not going to give up. Before midnight tonight I’ll sort out my ‘Big Why’ I’ll share it with you. I hope you get one too.

Epilogue
The Big Why concept probably didn’t originate with Keller Williams. I suspect it originated in the Bible, in fact I know it did. If God is your Big Why, he’s the best, but one word isn’t focused enough. Paraphrasing my friend Chad, it has to be something so defined as to be pictured and so important that if it doesn’t happen your heart will break.

My cat, JK, has been my constant companion on the road to my Big Why. He's 15 years old.

Questions from buyers moving to Knoxville from Canada

I recently received an e-mail from a potential client moving to Knoxville. He sent me some wonder questions about the Knoxville real estate market, homes in Knoxville and other aspects of buying their first home in the area. My responses are in bold type.

Buyer:
I haven’t spoken to you previously, but thought I’d touch base.

My wife and I are looking at purchasing a home in the semi-near future. I haven’t done anything such as get pre-approved yet, because I’m waiting to add my tax return to our down payment fund, and really don’t know what the process should be.

Rob:
If you’re really thinking near future, as in when you taxes come in, it would be wise to go ahead and talk to your lender to get ahead of the game a little bit. They can adjust your pre-approval as you go, but you can have a starting point and be better informed as to what you can/should be looking for based on what you want to pay monthly and all those factors. The lender cab help with all that plus get you started in gathering info that you’ll have to provide depending on the type of loan. Forewarned is best!

We both have quite a few questions, and I thought I’d bounce some of them off you:

Bank owned homes…are there caveats? Things to be aware of? I’ve heard nightmares about them, in terms of things like people pouring cement down the plumbing, or intentionally wrecking them. What are the true down sides to purchasing one, because the up side is that one appears to save a lot of money.

I’ve heard all those stories too and it’s smart to look hard at any home you’re thinking of buying. Over the years as a real estate investor I’ve bought 18 foreclosed homes and each has had something, but not to the extremes of the horror stories.

Most of what I’ve seen as major downsides to buying foreclosed homes are not malicious actions by the previous owners, but more deferred maintenance and neglect of things that should have been updated or replaced. Cosmetically, I look at them as blank canvases. I bought mine mostly for rentals, though I’ve lived in some of them for varying amounts of time over the years. The best advice on a foreclosed or any house is to get a mean-grading home inspector. He may find lots to criticize, and – as foreclosures are usually sold as-is you will either have a reason to withdraw from the deal or have a great punchlist of projects to make the place perfect.

Realtors… I’ve heard both pros and cons, but how does the realtor relationship work here? I’m from Canada, and have little to no idea how it all works here, other than a person doesn’t necessarily need to have their own realtor etc… but then, I’ve heard it’s a lot easier to find a home if you work with one.

Canada! A place I’ve always wanted to visit and still haven’t seen. I’ve been a realtor for 11 years. There are two schools of thought in answering your question. 1) It’s great to save the money and buy a house without one, if it saves you money. But in a lot of cases you’re going into on of the largest purchases of your life with limited information, the cost of having an expert guide who has handled hundreds of transactions is usually well worth the small percentage you’re paying for your own agent.

2) I tend to think in most cases realtors will save you money. If the home is for sale by owner then nobody likely has extensive experience with the processes of pricing, negotiation, keeping legal during the transaction, making sure each state-required form is properly executed and filed where it needs to be. While you can probably find a punchlist on the internet somewhere, we have pay for direct access to premium services with tax records; the multiple listing service which we subscribe to provides up to date info on sales in the area and unlike the blind eye that ‘free services’ take to things like foreclosures prices, sales between family members and other non-traditional transactions, we process that information to help determine whether a property is priced in the appropriate range. A good agent earns what they make with each transaction.

If the house isn’t ‘fsbo’ then there is already a realtor involved. As a realtor, it’s nice to sell your own listing and get ‘both sides’ of the commission, the duties of a listing agent are to take care of their client primarily.

A buyers agent in most cases doesn’t cost you any more, their commission is paid from an amount already negotiated with the sellers’ listing agent. But as your buyer’s agent I will be responsible for protecting your interests in the process from showing homes, through negotiation, inspections and financing. Being either a resource for information or the source for known, trustworthy service providers who can get whatever you need during the transaction.

> 3. Pricing/offers.. Homes where I was from were generally priced much higher than the actual sale would go for. Sometimes as much as 20-30% higher. Is this the case here? What is a good way to tell?

Each sale depends on the people buying and those selling. Generally those listed with realtors are priced somewhat in line with the going price for homes in the area. A strong-willed seller may bully a weak agent to ask a great deal more than actual value, but it’s my job as your listing agent to provide you with a CMA – comparative market analysis when you are ready to list the house for sale.

As your buyers agent, after you select a house you’re ready to offer on, I can create the same type of CMA to see what homes that have sold in the vicinity, in the same shape and quality – how were priced and what they sold for.

For example: some time ago I did a CMA for a home that had originally listed for $335k, it had dropped in price over time to $315k and the value that I saw from other recent sales was $325k, so an aggressively low offer would be not only reckless, the sellers may be insulted and not even respond, but even at the full asking price the buyer was gaining $10k in instant equity. Of course, we still offered less, but not much lower than the asking price.

We’d like to (ideally,) move sometime in the late spring/early summer.

I’d love to meet you when you make your way to Knoxville, you have great questions and I am happy to help with any others as they come along.

Farragut, TN: Popular for families, retirement and life in general!

Welcome to the vibrant town of Farragut, named after the honored Favorite Son Admiral David Farragut as well as regional shopping mecca Turkey Creek. Located minutes from Knoxville and all the University of Tennessee – Go Vols!

While definitely an extension of an Orange-blooded college town, Farragut is attracting more & more families of home buyers due to it’s amenities, wonderful parks and recreation spots, great climate, and highly ranked schools. Farragut is rated among the top places to live in Tennessee, work and retire in 2013.

Career, Business and Life – Keller Williams in Knoxville, TN

In the mid 1980s, Gary Keller began a company built upon his firm belief that if they focused on growing agents who excel in all aspects of life, the agents would be truly dedicated to the company and build it greater than anyone could reasonably expect. Keller Williams Realty has since grown to the #1 real estate company in the nation – with an army of more than 80,000 agents.

Careers Worth Having

“It’s not about the money. It’s about being the best you can be!” – those are the words at the top of Gary Keller’s best-selling book, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent.

In that book, Keller and his co-authors examined the systems and interviewed thousand of the top producing agents in North America. Their systems, models and processes are integrated into not only the book but throughout the organization in its frequent training, educational events, mentoring and a best-selling series of publications.

Click here to see a list of great titles from Gary Keller and Keller Williams

Having a Business Worth Owning

One of the wonderful MAPS coaches - Beth Torrence - presents information at Keller Williams Knoxville Market Center. — One of the wonderful MAPS coaches – Beth Torrence – presents information at Keller Williams Knoxville Market Center.

Keller Williams is a company built by agents for agents. Like a working university, top performers in each Market Center share their expertise with other agents, while learning from each other how to make their own businesses better. An industry of fierce competition has been replaced by a Culture of Teamwork and Cooperation. Gary Keller teaches and often reinforces that the agent is their own brand and makes all the tools and technology available for you to build your own business – and make it a career worth having.

To learn more about our company’s brand philosophy, download your copy of Does Brand Matter to the Real Estate Consumer?, a white paper from Keller Williams Realty.

Lives Worth Living

Money is only helpful if it is used to fund a great life. Keller Williams in Knoxville is built on a culture of agents who care about one another and commit to creating positive experiences in our offices, in the homes of our clients and around the Knoxville area as a whole. We join together at different times of the year to support local charities as well as helping each other with both business and personal needs whenever possible. We also have a great time, joining for monthly get-togethers and giving the each KW from the newest agent to the area’s top mega-producers opportunities to meet, learn from and socialize. It’s not forced, we like it!

My personal experience

I have been in real estate for more than 10 years. You can read my story after a few months at KW here. If you would like to talk about whether Keller Williams in Knoxville is a good fit for you, you can: Contact me on Facebook, call me at my office 865-966-5005 or My cell at 865-288-9123.

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Selling your Knoxville condo? Here’s news.

So you have a condo you’d like to sell in Knoxville? The government isn’t making it easy.

Another real estate agent friend just shared this with me. I hope it helps you prepare because preparation is key to getting your home sold

From an article
By Michele Lerner • Bankrate.com

Highlights
The borrower has to qualify for a loan, and so does the condo association.
The FHA has different condo-lending standards from Fannie and Freddie.
When the condo is deemed “nonwarrantable,” few options remain.

Borrowers run into two problems when getting a mortgage on a condominium: strict standards that make it hard to qualify for a condo loan, and high costs.

These issues beset condo buyers who want to get mortgages as well as people who already own condos and want to refinance.

Compare mortgage rates
Bankrate can help you find the best mortgage rates in your area.
“Condos are like the canary in the coal mine, a leading indicator of the health of the real estate market,” says John McClellan, a branch manager with Supreme Lending in Austin, Texas. “Recently, lenders’ biggest losses came from condos, so they are viewed as risky.” Some lenders reject condo loans altogether.

Condo loans have to jump through two hoops. First the borrower has to qualify. Then the condo association has to qualify. The borrower has little or no control over the latter.

“Condo financing is very situational because it depends not only on the borrower, but also on the project itself,” says Matt Ostrander, CEO of Parkside Lending LLC in San Francisco. “The guidelines have tightened because lenders want to see a financially healthy condo development. They want to see a higher concentration of owner-occupants and they want to see that delinquency rates on condo fees are low.”

Standards differ

Lenders follow guidelines from the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for condo mortgages.

Among Fannie Mae’s requirements:

More than half of the condo units must be owner-occupied.
No owner may own more than 10 percent of the units.
No more than 15 percent of owners can be delinquent on condo dues.
All amenities must be completed if the development is more than 12 months old.
Buyers who make a down payment of less than 25 percent will pay an additional 0.75 percent of the loan amount at the closing or a higher interest rate of about 0.25 percent.
The FHA has much friendlier down payment requirements, but strict guidelines for condo associations.

“It’s a misconception on the part of the public that you can’t buy a condo without a big down payment,” says Ed Wilburn, a mortgage banker with FEMBi Mortgage in Miami. “The rules are stricter now, but if you find a building that has already earned an FHA approval, you can get in with a down payment of 3.5 percent. FHA approval depends on the financial health of the condo, so the condo association needs to prove that they have adequate insurance, a budget with reserves, no pending lawsuits and no anticipated special assessments.”

Where to begin

Wilburn says condo buyers should start by checking to see if a building is approved for FHA loans. If not, they can ask the lender to see if the building meets Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines. Buyers can ask condominium managers if they have recently completed a homeowners’ association certification or questionnaire, which provides information on condo fee delinquencies, insurance and other factors that affect eligibility for loans.

“Even if the condo meets the Fannie Mae guidelines, buyers may find that they must make a down payment of 20 percent or more because mortgage insurance companies are less willing to provide mortgage insurance on condo loans, since they are considered riskier,” Wilburn says. “In fact, most mortgage insurance companies won’t insure a Florida condo. It may be easier in other markets.”

McClellan says a local lender will know which local complexes have FHA or Fannie Mae approvals. “Have a list of places you like and check the status of their approval” with the lender, he says.

Options thin out

Condos that are not approved for FHA or Fannie Mae financing are known as “nonwarrantable” and offer few options for buyers or refinancers.

“Buyers can either pay cash or they can look for a local bank that is willing to lend, but they should be prepared with a hefty down payment of 50 percent or more, have excellent credit and still be prepared to pay a higher interest rate,” McClellan says. “They should expect to pay as much as 7.5 percent when rates are 4.5 percent for other loans.”

Homeowners interested in refinancing will first need to face the potential problem of a lack of equity, since condo values have dropped in many areas.

“Condo owners can ask their management company if their complex is FHA- or Fannie Mae-approved, and if not, they may want to contact a local lender to see if they start the process for obtaining an approval,” McClellan says. “It’s in the best interest of all the owners to do what they can to meet FHA guidelines, since that approval can increase the value of all the homes in the development.”

KnoxvilleRob – The Other Knoxville Profile

I just had a profile featured on the wonderful little websites The Other Knoxville and Enjoy Knoxville.

It was an interview about my love and memories of living in Knoxville for the past 20+ years.

See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD45t_GV_S4&feature=youtu.be

The text of the profile is included below:

Few people know Knoxville quite like Rob Howard.

True, being an authority on the city’s homes and neighborhoods—their specs, market values and the unique details that make them perfect for one buyer or another—is part of his job as a realtor for Keller Williams.

But it’s Rob’s instinctive curiosity for Knoxville’s lesser-known, sometimes hidden, charms that makes him a true ambassador for all quadrants of the city. His eye for architectural details has led him to prize historic homes, and he once owned the sprawling Victorian house adjacent to the legendary Sassy Ann’s in the Fourth and Gill neighborhood. He fondly recalls enjoying the late-night club vibe next door from the comfort of his own porch.

As a longtime fan of college rock, Rob’s ear for the independent makes him a fan of many local bands, leading to hours spent at The Pilot Light in the Old City and trolling the aisles of the Disc Exchange for local releases by The Bitter Pills, the Tim Lee 3, Quartjar and others. And although he laments not making the scene as often as he once did, he still enjoys catching The Vibraslaps at the West Wing Café, Kimber Cleveland at Mulligan’s, or the occasional up ‘n’ coming band at the Preservation Pub.

Rob Howard is an insider now, having lived here for 20 years, but when he talks about his Knoxville, his eyes twinkle just like they did when he first visited as a youngster from Polk County who was so dazzled by the city he would eventually call home.

If you are interested in making your own wonderful memories in Knoxville, your next home is here Rob Howard, Keller Williams Realty.

7 Places and Things I LOVE about South Knoxville

I have lived or spent a significant amount of time is just about every area of Knoxville. When a student at UT, I started Knoxville life on campus – if it wasn’t within walking distance or an occasional trip out west to see a “dollar movie” or eat at IHOP, it didn’t exist for me.

In the 21 years I’ve spent living North, South, East and West – I’ve come to love different aspects of each part of town. I spent the better part of 10 years living in South Knoxville and came to love that area for hundreds of different reasons. Here are a few of my favorite places and things to love about spending time in South Knoxville.

1) Colonial Village – Living in Colonial Village, to me, is like spending your life in a Norman Rockwell painting. So many of the homes have the character and feel of a past era, a time and place where whimsical things happen and every day life is genuinely fun. Lots of trees, tons of cozy 1950s era homes with all the character features and the people to match.
Rob’s connection: I lived in, renovated and rented out a home on Lakeview.

2) Lindbergh Forest – Right off Woodlawn Pike the eclectic, magical Lindbergh Forest neighborhood is a wonderful place to stroll around and take in the sights of a beautiful mix of 1920s vintage brick and stucco homes in every shape and size. This was one of the Places to Live when Knoxville was growing up. Today it is peopled with UT professors, artists, downtown denizens and a fantastic group of friendly neighbors.
Rob’s Connection: Friends and clients have opened their homes to me and I have spent many nights on a front porch talking about nothing and everything.

3) Island Home – Passing through the Marble Columns of Island Home, is like stepping back in the late 1800s. Old growth Oaks and Maples line the Boulevard, people play with their children in the park next to the Mighty Tennessee River and fly their small prop planes out of Island Home Airport. This is also the home of the Tennessee School For The Deaf – home of the Mighty Vikings.
Rob’s Connection: I have frequented the park, walking trails and toured many homes and gardens on the Dogwood Trail.

Owl at Ijams — One of the owls that live at Ijams Nature Center

4) Ijams Nature Center – Not a neighborhood, but 80 acres of walking trails including a variety of different ecosystems. The perfect place to take a camera for a photowalk. Deep in the woods, at different times of year you may see some of the owls, cranes, a field of blazing sunflowers or other diverse standouts of nature. Be sure to check out the River Trail!
Rob’s Connection: Aside from tons of photo journeys, I have listened to fun presentations on the different animals and plants presented by volunteers in the Nature Center.

5) Disc Exchange – One of the fixtures of South Knoxville, the Disc Exchange is a place for the music lover. Drop in and listen to a live afternoon show, browse the records or discover a new favorite local band. Not just a music store, the Disc Exchange offers kitschy collections of music and pop culture related swag!
Rob’s Connection: Whenever I’m in South Knoxville, you’re likely to find me trolling the local music selections, attached to one of the listening bars, or picking up a piece of vinyl for my record collection.

Entering South Knoxville — South Knoxville JFG Sign

6) Vestival – The South Knoxville community has hosted Vestival since its inception in 2001. At Vestival, the community turns out to celebrate the heritage of Vestal and South Knoxville, it has since become one of the wider-Knoxville community’s finest yearly events. The festival spawned the birth of the Candoro Arts and Heritage Center. The festival takes place on the historic grounds of the old Candoro Marble Company on the corner of Maryville Pike and Candoro Ave. The beautiful old building still stands on the site and has recently been renovated by the Candoro Arts and Heritage Center. The building often houses an art exhibit during Vestival. The main activities take place outside of the building with over 40 craft and food vendors and a number of bluegrass, rock and Americana bands on two stages.
Rob’s Connection: You can find me grooving to Quartjar, Greg Horne, Todd Steed or any number of other bands, stopping for a Petro while racing between stages. I’m also sometimes get a massage or be mesmerized by the Gypsy Hands belly-dancing troupe between shows.

7) South Doyle – This sleepy bedroom community comes alive in each season with the sounds of baseball pats crashing, shoulder pads crunching and band concerts – surrounding South Doyle high school. The area feels like small-town America, just minutes from Downtown Knoxville!
Rob’s Connection: During college I always knew when baseball season was about to start when I received calls from players looking for venerable coach Robby Howard.

If you’d like to explore life in South Knoxville further – find your home here!

Mothers Day Musing: Folding Clothes???

I was just thinking about the effects my mother has had on me through the years. One of the good effects has always been an obsession with nicely folded clothes.

There are many ways that I have gone my own way, putting things away in a tidy manner didn’t stick, my “man room” is constantly a mess of mounds – papers, books, electronics, junk and treasure all democraticly discarded waiting to be either picked up and reused or finally relegated to the landfill. This is NOT something I learned from my mother – regardless of the hour, my mother’s house is neat as a pin. I think I may have gotten my penchant for piggishness in part from my dad, but he is better than me by a mile.

Growing up, I remember watching my mother fold laundry and it always looked like someone could wrap it in cellophane and put it back on the store shelf. My clothes always seemed to last longer and look better through her efforts. That was good since we never had a lot of money to waste.

Other aspects of my life that reflect my mother’s influence include a love of God, an insatiable wanderlust and deep care for family.

For many years I travelled all around Knoxville – didn’t hate moving though in my 21 years of living in town I have had 10 homes in all areas of town – North, South, East and West. I live in Farragut now, but yesterday I attended Vestival, the South Knox Arts & Heritage festival. I ran into friends who have better found their niches in town. Friends who have been in my life in real meaningful, and others in fleeting ways since I arrived in town for college in 1991.

I have always felt the wistful tug of home, at some transitional times more than others. I dream sometimes of moving back to my grandmother’s farm with the acres, farm house and pond. Other times, I think New York is where I’d “rhather” be, but Knoxville has always fit like a glove.

I thank my mom for this, knowing I can always go home, even if its not a permanent relocation.

How I Do Open Houses

My marketing plan includes many proven methods which are in use by most professional real estate agents. The difference with me is how I choose to take everything to the next level.

Today I am going to use open house promotion as an example. Here are seven levels of marketing an open house. As you begin to read the list you’ll see that most agents do some of these things when they hold an open house. Then you’ll see that very few agents do them all.

Level 1: Put a sign in the yard.

Level 2: Add balloons (where allowed) and/or riders. Riders should be in place in advance when possible.

Level 3: Put directional signs up from main roads. These should be in place in advance when possible.

Level 4: Advertise online (multiple web sites, blogs, social media).

Level 5: Send email invites to potential buyers/agents.

Level 6: Invite neighbors (mail/flyers/phone calls) a week before. (Sometimes have a separate open house or special previewing time.)

Level 7: All of the above plus coordinate to have other nearby homes open the same day to pull in extra traffic from the collective marketing efforts.

Do you need an agent that can take things to the next level? Talk to me, work with me, and you’ll see the difference.

This blog post is repeated from a wonderful agent Vicky Chisner is Northern Virginia – see her great blog at:

http://therealestatewhisperer.blogspot.com/2011/04/open-house-marketing-beyond-basics.html