Business is starting to pick up here and I'm having trouble keeping up. I'm working seven days a week and 12 hour days and I think it's time I looked at getting an assistant so I can "Get a life." It seems I'm working harder but losing clients here and there because I'm not able to respond quickly enough or unable to answer my calls because I'm showing properties with clients. I feel like I'm being extremely rude picking up my phone when I'm in the middle of a showing, so I let the calls go to my voice mail. I figure one saved transaction a month should easily pay for an assistant and help save my reputation.

Anyway, my questions are:

What traits should I be looking for in an assistant?

What do you feel is a good salary or wage for an assistant?

Should I look for someone that is already licensed?

What duties can assistants handle effectively, in your experience?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Wow, what a day! Just the other day I listed a bank owned home here in Orlando. There is nothing special about that, but what is special is the price. The list price isn't so low that the listing is a steal, but I would say that it is a hair's breath under the market value.

Today I had eleven buyers visit the home and have two offers already. I can't believe it! That's the most activity that I have ever seen on a property - let alone on a Wednesday.

I suppose it just goes to show that there are still a tremendous amount of buyers out there and that a well priced home will get loads of activity in any market.

 ...Okay, fingers crossed...I just need to get this one sold now :)

This may not be appropriate for Relib - however I thought I would check here first. I have a referral for the Miami area - a client that wants to list her home on Millionaire Row.

Looking for an agent that specializes in luxury properties. Can anyone here help me? Or does anyone know of a quality agent/broker in the area?

I'm always looking to glean advice from the people that have longevity and success in the real estate industry. What books do you feel every agent must read?

I hear so many real estate agents telling me that internet leads suck. In the first few months of my career I heard the song so many times that I almost gave up on the idea of having a website. I started calling FSBO's, expireds and licking envelopes every day. These strategies worked and got me listings, but were extremely time consuming and I was finding that my prospecting efforts were eating up all of my time and not giving me much time to properly service my existing listings.

Nonetheless, against all the wisdom of the naysayers, I found P2 and decided to go ahead and set myself up with a website of my own. I got involved here on Relib and also on the P2 message boards and listened to the many experts that so freely and altruistically offer their advice. I can honestly say the education from reading all of your posts has been nothing short of astounding and has become a daily part of my self-education process.

Anyway, I hope you don't see this as me bragging (more me being grateful for all the wonderful advice), but this month so far I have signed 14 listings from leads that came from my website and have three more in the pipeline. I also have 3 signed and accepted contracts ready to close this month with many more leads that are being incubated for the months to come. The closings are little ones, but for a new agent like me it's a big deal. Without all of the knowledge from the people on these message boards and blogs, I'd still be licking envelopes.

I can't think of anything better than the internet for a real estate agent, can you?

I came across this letter on another real estate website. It is supposed to be written by Jay Leno, but I have no facts to back that up. Nonetheless, it is well worth the read - particularly during the election period and with all the negative press we hear these days:

"'The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some
poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true, given the
source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy
with the direction the country is headed, and 69 percent of the
country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence,
2/3's of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What are we
so unhappy about?''
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7
days a week?

Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer
and heating in the winter?

Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and
see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the
Atlantic Oceanwithout having to present identification papers as we
move through each state?

Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along
the way that can provide temporary shelter?

I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from
around the world is just not good enough.

Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up
and provide services to help all, and even send a helicopter to take
you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You
may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a
group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch
equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and
your belongings.

Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs , a burglar
or prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest
will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias
raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of
teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we
enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the
world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a
great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most
blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain abo ut what we
don't have , and what we hate about the country instead of thanking
the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has
no plan to get us out? The President who has a measly 31 percent
approval rating? Is this the same President who guided the nation in
the dark days after 9/11? The President that cut taxes to bring an
economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been
called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the
spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?

The Commander-In Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there
defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the
news or talk sho w? Did this news affect you so much, make you so
unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the
good things and be glad?

Think about it...are you upset at the President because he actually
caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was
failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have
volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your
freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have
to go.

They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge,
an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a
''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of
Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it
bleeds, it leads; and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will
watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids
selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets
are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells , and when
criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one
way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J.
Simpson to write a book about 'how he didn't kill his wife, but if he
did he would have done it this way'...Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off
the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of
your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a
country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

We are among the most blessed people on Earth, and should thank God
several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.

With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides,
flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to
another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this
is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

Jay Leno
2007"

This letter really puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

At 11pm the other night a client of mine called me to discuss a property acquisition he was looking to make. I've been working with the guy for about four months now. During the conversation he dropped a bomb on me. He said that real estate agents do very little work for the amount of commission they receive! Can you imagine calling me on a Sunday night at 11pm and then telling me that??? How do you spell Ironney?

Anyway, so I came to thinking about how many hours a week I work. Right now I estimate that I work between 70 and 80 hours a week, every week. Granted, I'm a new agent and I spend a tremendous amount of time educating myself and learning the business and marketing - but I also spend a heck of a lot of time doing face-time with prospects and existing clients.

So how many hours a week do YOU work?

Just thought I'd share something that I have been testing out. Recently I added a voice (wave) file to one of my website pages as a test. As cheezy as it sounds, the results have been quite amazing. My bounce rates have reduced by around 40% and my registrations to that page have increased by three times what they used to be.

I'm now going to add some more wave files to my site to see if I can get a better measure of these results. Has anyone else here tried this?

I just logged into my Google account this morning and checked the links pointing towards my website. I noticed that every article I published on Relib resulted in a recorded link to my site in Google's registry.

I suppose my question is, do multiple links coming from one blog help ones website rankings? Does anyone that blog notice any difference in their website rankings from blogging on other sites?

I just signed up for an account with an 800 number for a 24 HR information line. The program looks pretty good (see Adtrakker.com) and I see it as a great way of capturing leads and tracking advertising dollars spent.

However, the proof will be in the pudding as to how effective this form of marketing will be. I'm not sure how qualified the leads will be that come through the system. I also applied for a local number to use for this system as I think that 800 numbers appear too "Tricky" in a local market.

Does anyone here use such a system? Has it been effective for you? What tips or techniques would you recommend for best results?

In the last month I have driven around several complete time wasters in my car. Eaten up my gas, paid for their lunches and in the end - no-action. Those that did take action went sooo low that all their offers were rejected and they gave up and decided to rent.

I made sure they were pre-qualified for a loan and all wanted to move within a month. Some had heavy motivators as their lease was ending and they wanted to keep their kids zoned in the same schools.

What could I have done better to pre-qualify them? Would love to hear everyones thoughts and ideas on how you prequalify your clients?

I'm sure many of you are getting ready to travel for the holidays. I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! It has been so nice getting to know everyone on this site over the past months.

Cherish the time you spend with your families and I wish you all a safe and happy holiday.

May your new year bring you happiness and a few dollars to boot!

The Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation last Friday that will expand the nation's biggest federal home ownership program. The move may aid struggling subprime borrowers to avoid or altogether stop foreclosure.

The bill will aid in loosening the strict underwriting standards of the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) and is guided towards helping some 200,000 troubled borrowers from losing their homes.

In 1934 the FHA was put together as a result of the depression to insure the mortgage payments of low-income borrowers who may have difficulties in winning a loan.

The US House of Reps has already passed its version of the FHA loan reform and now lawmakers will take the two different versions of the bill to a conference where they will attempt to work out the differences. The bill will then be passed to President Bush to be signed into law.

Supporters of the new reform believe that it has the possibility of helping hundreds of thousands of borrowers avoid foreclosure as a result of the recent mortgage crisis.

The FHA reform legislation would raise the loan limit from 362k to at least 417k, which by the way is the same cap on loans that binds finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The final vote was 93 lawmakers in favor and only one against.

Has anyone here done the E-Pro Certification?

Was it of any value to you? Would you recommend it to others that already have intermediary internet skills or better? I'd like to hear the pros and cons of those who have done the class.

Just a quick question, does anyone have a decent contract for putting together a real estate team?

I'm trying to put together a team but don't want to reinvent the wheel if I don't have to. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

:)