Hawaii Real Estate | Hawaii Relocations | Hawaii Home Buying & Selling

My reputation is my number one priority of my business model. The first impression of who I am and what I stand for will long be remembered by all I cross paths with. The lasting impression comes from remembering where I came from when working alongside other Real Estate Industry professionals as a team through each and every transaction.

After my phone conversation with another agent last night ended, I was left with such a glow that showed from the inside showing out. My husband asked what that was all about because I was smiling ear to ear. I told him about my conversation with the agent and how he told me that “It is refreshing to work with you Sally.”  Wow!  

I was flattered!

He chatted more about how he was a ‘newer’ agent and sometimes he is talked down to by agents who have been in real estate longer.  I’ve heard this many times before.

He thanked me for renewing his outlook.  Now THAT was a stunning compliment as there are agents that have been in the business for MANY years who don’t know how to write a contract and then there are REALLY GOOD agents who have been in the business for just a couple of years who jump on every opportunity to learn.

This is what it means to contribute for a better industry!

Now this agent has shown nothing but the best detailed responses and I admired him for being up front and honest about his not being knowledgeable about short sales. I reassured him that I would help him along as it’s so much easier to work together than against. He agreed wholeheartedly! We both agreed that we would try and work through any details to make this transaction work. 

Remember That We ALL Started Somewhere in Real Estate and Working Together as a Team are good business practices and it will create a “fresh and comfortable atmosphere” for a smooth and successful transaction for all.   Who wouldn’t want it any other way?

We all started somewhere in this business.

Remembering this keeps me in check….

Because I will create a POSITIVE impression….

For a lasting good reputation.

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I read a post this morning and read through the wonderful comment stream. I picked up on a comment from Neal Bloom-Realtor ®CRS-Weston FL Real Estate (Keller Williams Properties, Weston FL) who said, "I'm a people person..that's just how I am...my clients have told me that they would rather talk to a live person sometimes. As far as agents go..it all depends on the listing. I say if it works for you then you do it the way is best for you".

And that's IS the beauty of our business. Whatever works for you or me is how we will conduct our business. The one thing about our business is that we attract like kind people who will be best fit to make the business relationship work.  If you just want a business type relationship that is what you'll get. If you are a people person and insert a bit of ‘self' into the ‘relationship' then you will receive the benefits of both worlds.

• One agent refuses to pick up their phone and it goes to their office voicemail. They have an assistant that will return the call and they have a service that you can make appointments with.  Is it giving the impression they are too busy and can't give the attention the client deserves?
• Another will take all calls, return texts and emails if they are not with a client (or busy doing family time) and will return it promptly when they're free.  It's the right thing to do to give full attention to the client, right?
• Yet another agent will answer, return texts and emails no matter what.  They stop in the middle of the street to do so. It's the way this world of technology has conditioned many who want to keep up with the times.  Is it showing the client (or peer, or friend or family) that the conversation they're having with you is not important?

I have had clients ignore me and answer their text messages. I have had clients who refuse to email. I have had clients who are the most pleasant, eager to work as a team and bring me into their family as a friend.

We open our minds to all possibilities.

Are you a people person Realtor®?

I too will say, "Whatever works for you".

A potential seller was trying to decide on what to do with the home. Keep it ....or sell it and downgrade. The house has been paid off for years. The only decision was if it would be a better choice to sell and bank all that money or just live in the home without worrying what to do, where to go, boxes to pack and so on.

MANY years past and the seller still had no worries.

The potential seller was older now and had two grandchildren come back to live in the home. With the grandson doing the yard work and the granddaughter taking care of the cleaning there were still no worries.  The seller still worked and on vacations went to Las Vegas to have fun on the slot machines once a year.

A few more years past and the seller still had no worries.

At over age 80 the potential seller had one final decision to make. The economy was bad and the company that employed the potential seller was laying off people.  They were cutting hours and during all these decisions the potential seller went on a month vacation. Rested for a couple weeks and then.....  Off to Vegas!

After returning the potential seller called to see what the work schedule was for the week. NOT ON THE SCHEDULE???  What kind of B.S. is that after over 30 dedicated years to this company?  No speech or a face to face talk.  Wow. Is it because of the age thing? 

Was it time for the potential seller to worry?

In this case, the potential seller won a bunch of money in Vegas and paid the car off. The house is paid off and bills are minimal for the upkeep of the home. I have a talk with the seller and advise to keep the home and just live in a home and on a property that surely has been the private abode enjoyed for MANY MANY years.

We take the good and the bad in this business and not all potentials will turn into leads. We have patience and let the potential client decide when they are ready.  Or not. We listen and try and understand the needs of our clients to do the best possible for them.  Even if it's a family member.

My mom is going to be 83 years old and got laid off for the first time in her life. Why sell?  She has a roof over her head and is content in the home she has lived for 40 years come next summer.

WE LISTEN TO THEIR NEEDS.

And give the best possible advice.

I WILL sleep well for many nights to come.

You know, many would think that when others have a positive attitude towards business, and life in general, is a means to try and trample over those without regard to how they affect them. That is not so and the positive are not weak in nature to begin with.

I have long since learned that a positive outlook doesn't mean I just follow others around and keep in tune with the "Joneses" but to be direct and honest WITH regard to my intent that in doing so I am not affecting others in a negative way. On the flip side, I am keeping healthy boundaries and don't let others cross that line. Being assertive and direct with a meaningful tone by the way.

There are those that have ulterior motives to hurt when telling people the ‘truth' and those that just need to be straightforward with the only intent of others respecting them for their honest opinions.

In other words, there's a right way and a wrong way of doing things.

My mom used to try and pound that into my head from ‘kid time'.  I used to think that telling people something they didn't want to hear would hurt them. Not so in the real estate business. We HAVE to be straightforward in this business so our client's have a clear understanding of the market, the process and the end result.

Same goes for online communication and connections. I'm one of ‘those' that will try and avoid ‘unnecessary' conflict. Do I care how long someone has been doing something?  I think I would rather identify how the quality of work and the sincerity of the person is compared to ‘how much' or ‘how long'. And without personal interaction of some sort (telephone, face to face) the typewritten word may sometimes portray obscenity and ill disregard to another.

There is a right way and wrong way of doing things and to not give a ‘shirt' about another and how I may affect them may just be chalked up to self centeredness.  So, I'll just continue with what's good for me......which by all means may not be the same for you....but with all good intentions that I'm not affecting anyone in a negative manner.

Signing off....

Being Positive Doesn't Mean We Let THEM Walk All Over Us

There are things that each individual will connect with for inner strength. Those awesome niche's in ones inner being that tell them that they are 'all right'.  The stillness to catch my breath in ever moving time and the objects that just may give me a reason to believe.

I find those wonderous things in a crashing wave and a rustling wind about my face. I find these things in the beauty of a bloom. Take time to reflect, to catch your breath and regroup if need be......and gain that strength to just move on. 

Take a moment.....................

You ever have one of those days that just doesn't start out great? Well, today was one of those days.

I'm one of those agents that has to do everything correctly; down to correcting typos or mistakes. ESPECIALLY when it comes to property addresses.

So, today I make a call to a Management Company for an Association and end up getting yelled at for asking to redo a 2006 approval for a deck that had the wrong complex name (about 20 miles in the other direction)

I questioned the fact that they wanted to just line it out and initial it.  Taking something like this to the City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting to get an after the fact building permit may/may not fly.

But this is what we got....a crossed out and initialed property complex  .......by fax.

Sometimes titles go to their head.

Okay, so on with the rest of the day. Help an agent do a flow chart for an investor and then, a gentleman walks in and hands me a bouquet of flowers.

I actually confused him with a home inspector that came in on Friday too but he had rushed out again.

It clicked! He walked into our office this past Friday for a rental and we didn't have what he was looking for. A single family home with 1400 sq/ft or more on the Mililani Mauka side of Mililani. He was just here for the weekend to look for property and then he had to fly back to the mainland and move his family here.

Bottom line, I pulled up a few rental listings, he calls and then asks me if I could possibly pull up the maps to the three appointments he made. Sure thing! And off he goes....until he walks in this morning.

A small act of kindness...and when I least expected it an appreciation and kind gesture ....

Just when I needed it. 

Funny how the universe works.

What goes around comes around.

Today is February 23, 2009: When I opened my front door this morning, this is the view that peeked through the rooftops and beckoned me to snap a shot.  Funny how the little things in life can really make a difference in how your day will go. Ah.... the mind...the thinking and how one approaches each and every day.

I dare not let any moment of the day pass without acknowledging every little thing I am grateful for.

A rising sun on the east

Different colors and hues

A hint of the new day 

Rising between colors of blue.

If there is anything in this life of mine that I am truly grateful for

Is waking every morning and living the day; and sleeping well at night.

What's that saying that when one door closes another opens? I firmly believe that no matter what kind of situation or circumstance the bottom line for a positive outcome will always be because of "ALL IN THE MANNER OF HOW I HANDLED IT".

After working so hard on getting every contingency met and getting ready to close the buyers backed out last week. My hard work and effort and my seller's heart and soul firmly set in getting all the details done for his move and then the bomb drops. There was no solid answer why and from the beginning of that "mess" I chose to just accept it and move on.

I can't make anyone tell me why.

Easy for me to say and do when my sellers life was turned upside down right?  Wrong. I have always been one to get a little emotionally involved with my clients. Why? Because it's the personal touch and caring that make each transaction just a little more special and rewarding. It's the caring that goes into each and every client that brings heartache or joy and puts me in the class of "being human".

In this case I really had to be strong for the both of us and immediately put it back up on the market and within hours started receiving calls. I have to keep going even when things looked bleak. It can only change around if we put forth the effort.

Within that cooling down period ......I showed property to my buyers (different clients) for a couple of days and we got our contract accepted this morning. A beautiful family buying their first home and eyes sparkling with high hopes that everything will work out just fine.

There are ups and downs and all arounds; joyous cries and tears of sorrow.

Mystery, doubt and fear;  for we know not what life will bring us tomorrow. 

Rewarding beyond a doubt;  It's caring and going above and beyond

A fine line between caring or not; Of losing that common bond.

Of Being Human.

Most Realtors® have the ability to change like a chameleon at every situation, circumstance and turn. There are NO two transactions ever alike and we learn from each and every one.

When one door closes another opens. It's the gift of positive energy. 

Will you look through the cracks?

Wow...amazing how I feel so relieved from just coloring those boxes in at the poll center in my neighborhood this morning! A misty kind of morning to fit well with the mystery of the anticipated outcome of our election process.

In the meantime, while all the hoo haaa was going on the last 21 months during the campaigning I was out there keeping the balance with my work and family life. In my mind, soul, heart and being I have come to learn that balance will always be key to my success in all areas of my life.

You see, I believe success starts from within and with that in mind I carried through this last year focusing on what I need to do to keep afloat in spirit and of course in my business. Last December we had curve balls flying from all directions. The year started with my family keeping a positive outlook. My husband kept telling me that we need not worry.

"Because good things happen to good people," he said. And he added, "And we're good people."

Let go of fear, worry, hypothetical situations and all that comes with the "what ifs" and just DO IT.

And we did.

• My business started slow the first half of the year but was steady.
• The last half a year has been grand and I am ending the year at a higher level than last year.
• My son finally got his VA approval for school and he is comfortably settled in to studying after a long two year process of once again establishing his residency here and getting ready to start school.
• My daughter is continuing at the same college after finally deciding that her dream is forensic science.
• My husband was settled in his new job two months after his company closed this past January nationwide...and he's happy.  
• My dog Shadow is stable with her blood platelets at a normal level.
• Blogging on  brought me half of my clients this year from my blog and my website (which by the way..is directly linked to ActiveRain for all I've learned to MAKE my website findable)
• My mom is going to be 81 years old come Januaryand 2008 at 80 years old was well spent! (still working, golfing, Las Vegas twice and more!)
• We made it through the second year of no smoking. So what if we put on an extra 10 pounds and can't get rid of it, right? January 13th will make two years after 30+ of smoking.
• I voted this morning and no matter what the outcome I will support our Mayor, our President and others that are chosen. Acceptance.

Don't you think that looking for all the positives around me helped?

Relief after the 'storm'.

No matter what the situation or circumstance I have to be prepared to handle it. Life ALWAYS has curve balls thrown at us to test us and to give us grand learning lessons in this big game of games.....called LIFE.

We can either let it suck the energy out of us or deal with it. Always keep in mind that there IS something to be learned.

Needless to say, this has been one big week for me with many learning lessons.

• Signing was tentatively set for Thursday morning but loan docs were not drawn yet.
• Escrow from the closing the week before sent my clients refund check and closing documents to the wrong address.
• Ear Infection? Went to the doctor Thursday afternoon only to find out.......
• That I have strep throat and this topped everything off everything for a busy week.
• Late Friday afternoon the loan docs came in but won't be ready for signing until Monday but client is unavailable due to military stuff.
• Repairs finally completed and home is ready to do final walk through.
• Scheduled Open House today and had to have another agent cover for me.
• Yard man scheduled for mom's yard yesterday and I had to beg him to do 'something' in the drizzling rain until he finally gave up at noon to pouring rains. (mom's yard really needed work....again)

So what are my learning lessons?

• No need to fret, worry, nag, rant or rave. There are things that happen that are NOT in my control and I need to just accept that.
• What I do have control over is MYSELF. And I have no energy to waste anyway lol.
• I can reschedule, get help and continue on with transactions & open houses.
• My body says rest. Needless to day, I literally HAD to and though feeling crappy it feels good to ....blog.
• My husband can take care of me (wait on me) and listen to my whining "I don't like being sick". That got old quick :)
• That it's time to get off the pc....because I just used the little energy I had to write this :)

Have a good Sunday and a wonderful upcoming week!