Fayetteville, NC Real Estate Blog

Motorcycles - some love them, some hate them...me, well as you can tell, I love them.  There is no better way to release a hard week's stress than to jump on my 1999 Harley Davidson FXD Superglide and let the stress disappear as the miles pass.

Our local Harley Davidson dealer, Cape Fear Harley Davidson, is a pretty nice dealership.  We are blessed to have quite a few Harley Davidson dealers local to us, so if one doesn't tickle your fancy there is another pretty close by.

 You can find Cape Fear Harley Davidson located at 3950 Sycamore Dairy Road in Fayetteville, NC.

     

Looking for a new health club?  Have you considered your Local YMCA?

Once the center of strong families...the YMCA is making a strong comeback.  Now, mind you, I am not one who is crazy about exercise, but I know it is important and my wife and I decided that for each other and our child that making a positive effort to better our health and fitness level, we would join a health club.

There are many in my area and we looked at a few.  The one requirement that I had was that it had to have a pool.  Hey, everyone enjoys swimming, right?  Well, at least I do, not to mention it is great exercise!

One a recent cold Sunday afternoon we learned that our local YMCA was having an open house as most health clubs do in the January time frame.  (Ever wonder why they do it in January?  Well....most people make New Year's Resolutions and this is one of them..to get fit...by March, most are not going anymore and the health club has made their monies...)  Anyway, back to the story.  We visited and I was pleasantly suprised at the facilities that they offered.

A weight room with a full compliment of machines and free weights, a full court gymnasium, a olympic size pool, a cardio workout room, sauna, steam room, small whirlpools and even childcare!  All of that for a mere $59 a month for a family!  You simply cannot beat that deal anywhere.

 

 

 

Want to find out more about the local Fayetteville, NC YMCA?  That's easy!  Visit their website at http://www.fayettevilleymca.org/ and see what they have to offer!

Electronic signatures.  Sometimes called digital signatures but there are differences.  Electronic signatures can make a transaction smooth and EASY to conduct.  No need to run all over town or if you have a client that is from out of town you CAN get a document signed and it is completely legal AND binding.

As the Chairman of my Keller Williams Market Center Technology Committee I try to stay on top of things that make my business and those in my office's a little easier.  After all, we are busy enough, so anything that can cut down on time spent and gain a few minutes is a positive.

I use a program called Docusign.  Docusign is a great program!  Docusign recently allowed me to service both a seller who lived over an hour from me and a buyer who was serving our great country in Guintanimo Bay, Cuba.  Yes, I said CUBA!  She was able to sign the contract and put an offer in on a property which we closed on earlier this month.  This would not have been an easy transaction without Docusign.

Now...I know there are some agents that don't like or just refuse to accept the world that technology is creating.  That's fine...as long as you do not hamper my efforts to get a deal going when I use the technology.  I will take the time to provide you with documentation to put you at ease that my "computer signed" document is indeed legal and binding. 

There is MORE proof that a signer must do what they intend when they sign a document electronically then there is when they do it with a pen.  You see, when I use my "technology toy" it creates a automatic "paper trail" of sorts showing when the client viewed the document, when I viewed the document, what time the client signed the document, the IP address that created the document, the fact that the client viewed the user agreement and accepted it (Making it legal) among many other things.

When someone signs with a trusty ball-point pen....well did they really sign it?  Are we putting ourselves at risk accepting the fact that the other agent is in fact saying that is their clients signature?  Hmmm, never thought of it that way, did you?  I personally think that a document as important as a real estate contract and with the fact that buyers often put up earnest money (that they are risking) should be a notorized document....but then again, I don't push that, I don't have the time for another class...LOL.

Are electronic signatures legal?  YOU BET!  President Bill Clinton signed a bill in 2000 that made them just as legally binding and enforcable as a hand signed document.  He set forth requirements that made them secure.

To read more about the legalities of an electronic signature check out these links:

http://www.docusign.com/resources/whitepapers/WP_Legality_of_E-Signatures.pdf

To learn more about how these work and the steps involved visit Docusign's video page:

http://www.docusign.com/products/product_videos/http://www.docusign.com/products/product_videos/

Want to try it?  Here's a Docusign demo:

http://www.docusign.com/products/signing_demo/

GO ahead and give it a try...FREE 30 day trial:

http://www.docusign.com/products/evaluate/

If you haven't researched electronic signature's I recommend that you take the time to do so, you might find that your business becomes more productive...if you will accept the technology.

Go ahead, give technology a try.  Remember, I use this technology everyday and discover more every chance I get as I believe in giving my clients the highest level of service available.  If you can't keep up with the changing world of real estate...please do not tell me my methods are not legal...until you understand that they are. 

Docusign...what are YOU wainting for?

I was doing some searching tonight and found a great program.  Actually this is a program type that I did some searching for last week and couldn't find..then tonight, there it was!

I admit, I am a visual person.  An item MUST be in front of my face or it has a tendency to be forgotten.  So, as you can imagine I have a lot of scratch pieces of paper on my desk.

Well.....after forgetting a VERY important item one day last week I decided to see if there was something I can do about it.

Tonight I found a program called "Stickies".  Talk about cool!  It is like having a sticky not right on your computer monitor.  You can add, delete, add and alarm, set it to reoccur, and many other features I have even tried yet....and did I mention, it's FREE?

You can visit the site http://www.majorgeeks.com/ to download the program and install.... here is a direct link to the download.. http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5501.htm

I think if you are a visual person like me that you will enjoy "Stickies"...I know it has already proven beneficial to me!

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What is the first impression a buyer perusing the streets of a neighborhood have of you as a real estate professional?

Your sign in the yard. 

What do your signs look like?  Are they professionally designed and well maintained or are they rusted and doing everything they can to stand up in the yard?

Our signs truly do make a first impression on buyers.  They can be the defining object between someone respecting us as a professional or thinking we are just temporary.

A house was just listed down the street and I have to say the sign is pitiful.  It is the plastic corrugated with the flimsy metal as the stand.  Now, if done right the plastic can be a viable option to metal...but this one is just weak.  I noticed the sign as I travel the street daily and well, things that change just sort of catch my attention.

The sign looks like it was made by a company that didn't care about design.  It is a dark green with red lettering and very hard to read.  I can make out the sign when I get about 10 feet from it to see that it is a house for sale.

I guess the seller is fine with it, but I can tell you that if I were a seller and you put that in my yard, I would question if I had made the right choice in real estate professionals.

Are your sign frames rusty?  If so, take a day and get some paint and make them attractive once again.  Are your signs covered in mud or worse concrete because of being on a new construction lot?  Clean them..make the best impression that you can, remember, you only get one chance to make that first impression.  Are your signs easy to read?  If not, take another look at the design and the designs of the signs that you notice as you travel...take notes and make your design work for you.

Remember, the best suit, the best business card and the best presentation can all be wasted if you show up with a sign that says you are not diligent in making sure your image is the same across the board!

I have been getting a lot of comments on a blog I wrote sometime ago this week.  It seems as though suddenly people have just discovered it.  It is interesting that blogs, as other things that are posted on the Internet, are somewhat of a permanent fixture.  Once there, you just never know who will find it and when and what the reaction will be.

Back on November 27, 2007, I wrote a blog entitled, "One of the most powerful tools in my aresenal and I get 8 for a dollar".  You can read the blog post here... CLICK HERE

It was just a short blog that I wrote about one of the easiest things you can do to take care of your sphere of influence...handwriting a thank you card.

That blog recieved numerous comments and I was amazed that people tended to forget to do the little things, like sending a thank you card, to make their business grow.

I guess we all need to remember that what we do today might just touch someone tomorrow and we never know how or where or in what way that touch will be.

By the way....have you sent a thank you card today?

Well, it's time for the Superbowl!  Although my team isn't there, I am excited as it is something I always look forward to.

This year's Superbowl has a unique twist!  Jordan Sparks, the daughter of Jodi Sparks, a Keller Williams Agent with the Glendale, Arizona market center is scheduled to sing the National Anthem...which is starting as I type this!