I was thinking this afternoon about the buyers in today's marketplace.  They are either bargain hunters or people looking for a dream.  In our area, it is a joke among the Real Estate Professionals in the area that every buyer is looking for a "3 BR, 2 BA Cabin in the Woods, on an acre, with a creek running through it".  Almost every buyer to sit down in front of our desks has a preconceived notion that this is what they want to buy.  The reality of the area is much much different. To start with, even though we are located high above the desert floor in Arizona and we have Pine Trees and Lakes instead of cactus, we are still part of the desert.  We are subject to the same extremes that they are in the lower elevations.  And, the people who live and work here are not vacationers, they ha... 01/19/2009

I was just thinking today that much of what we do in this industry to bring in new business is tedious at best and time consuming besides. Case in point, the Christmas Card ritual.  Yes it is a pain, yes it takes a lot of time, but....it reminds all those previous customers that you are still in the business and they appreciate that we remember them.  I even have folks I send cards to that weren't even my clients.  They were just really nice people who made things easier for my clients and were just a real pleasure to work with.  I want to remember them too because someday, they might remember me too. 12/23/2008

  Now There is a Happy Hound! Yes, it is White and there is more on it's way.  Glad I am not planning any travel for the Holidays since we received about 18" of snow last night with more on the way for Christmas Day and the Day After. We could quite literally be snowed in for the Holiday and for a couple of days after.  Our highway crews are not the best and it takes them a long time to get roads cleared after it snows.  The latest forecast says we could get two more feet of the White Stuff before it is all over, and the last time they said that we got 4 feet here and as much as 6 foot higher up.  The skiers will be happy, once they can get to the slopes that is!  Just glad I've got my shopping done and my freezer stocked and my fridge full.  I may get cabin fever being snowed in, but ... 12/23/2008

The number of agents are definitely changing.  I heard the other day that our Board is losing about 30 agent s month on average right now.  There are always a few new ones coming one too, but the numbers are dropping.  In our area that is okay, those numbers needed to go down.  In the boom times everyone and their sister, brother, uncle, aunt, & cousin, got their real estate license so they could make some fast money.  Add to that we had a ton of agents jump on our board from the Phoenix & Tucson markets so they could bring their clients up here and sell them homes.  Never mind that they didn't know the area, the market, or anything about the area, they just wanted to keep us from selling their folks, it was pure greed.  So, even though our numbers are going down, we are not at all unha... 11/22/2008

Everytime I change office I find I have accumulated more "stuff".  I swear that those papers sit in the drawers and multiply.  I spent two days sorting and throwing and I still had at least ten boxes full of "stuff" when we finally moved out of our former, now closed, office.  I am still not settled in my new location - have to buy more 'stuff".  I love having to order new signs, new cards, new nametags, new stationary, new new new ..... money money money ..... just in time for the end of the year slump and the Holidays.  Add to that the fact that my "new" laptop that I purchased in early October hasn't worked right from the first day, and will soon be on it's second trip to the Dell Repair Depot.  So in the meantime I am working out of my house.  That is fun too - between my Hubby, the... 11/22/2008

  AFFORDABLE SUMMER GET-AWAY! Really must see this cute place.  Clean as can be, already furnished and ready for you to move right in.  This older home is located in popular Wagon Wheel Park in an unincorporated area of Lakeside, Arizona known as Wagon Wheel.  This little 2 BR has two decks, a fenced yard, extra storage, and plenty of room to park the boat right at home.  Nicely furnished with newer appliances.  Built in 1969 it is in exceptional shape for the age.  Cozy & Comfy affordable home.  Plenty of Storage.  Call to see, easy to show.  MLS#92049.     07/28/2008