At  Con-Ed class today the instructor posed some ideas for agents that I am curious to see if some of you are using such as fee for services, retainers,  etc.?  Seems to me I remember one of you posting about this not too long ago.  She asked if we thought of  gas cards for frequent gas miles?  Hmm,  might get expensive as we live and sell in very rural areas.   I’m trying to think of ideas that I can implement into my marketing plan for 2008,  with my Broker’s approval of course.

Missy Caulk wrote two posts recently which were very informative one of which was her Pre-Listing Questionnaire and the other post titled Sound Familiar? or not?  There are some really great free sites that she implements and I thought might be helpful to some.  I sure appreciate her posts.

There are so many new free sites available it completely boggles my mind.  I’m trying to keep my expenses down and initiate all that will help in 2008.  If you don’t mind sharing I would definitely appreciate your input as I highly respect so many of you here. I have not posted much in the past (hoping to implement that change in 2008) but I do try to keep up with the reading of your posts. 

I’ve recently joined Brad Andersohn’s new site at  http://realestate411.ning.com .  Which is a site connecting Real Estate Agents,  networking, discussions, forums,  and much more. Take a look I’m sure you’ll recognize a few faces.  

We've got tornado warnings and thunder and lightning,   oh my!!   Just got out from underneath the house,  don't know if that was the best place to be but I'll tell you what it scared me to death!! 

Definitely makes you want a basement.  That is probably the closest I've come to actually being in a tornado  the sheets of rain that were coming down with it stung,   it was coming down so hard.  We we're totally soaked,  even the suckie dog was soaked.  All I wanted was a little rain..  It's still thunder booming out there.

I felt foolish crawling under the house,  but when the fire whistles started blasting and you could see things were getting progressively worse,  the only thing I could think to do was protect my son,  dog,  and myself. It's amazing what you'll do when your scared.

Wow did I get initiated today!  First time out on home tours with new company and I really enjoyed myself.  I can't remember ever touring that many homes in one day and we completed them all just a little after noon. 

I'm wondering how others here feel about company tours of homes.  Is it mandatory in your office?  Do you tour them on your own,   or not at all?   If not,  why not?   What are your thoughts?   

There was a 3 car caravan of realtors.   In our car group we had 5 agents and it was great exchanging ideas and having questions asked and answered.  Kind of like you all do here only live,  not to say your not a lively group but it definitely was a great time,  and I look forward to the next one after my feet cool down. 

Recently there was a post on Changing Companies by Gloria Losie that helped me more than any of you could possibly know.  It had been a difficult week for all involved and I thought a long sabbatical would help,   my thought was to put my license in a holding company with my cousin until I could come to a decision. 

After speaking with family and friends and receiving a couple of phone calls from past clients,   I decided to not give up on a career I knew I loved and would truly be remorseful for my actions if I did.  Once the decision was made it was a question of what to do next.  I thought of taking a month or two,  but was told I would probably have to pay NAR,  MAR,  and MLS dues again when coming back,  not to mention my past and present clients would think I left real estate and would probably go with another realtor.

I want to thank all who contributed to Gloria's post for some wonderful ideas that I will try to implement, Todd's "I'm moving" card I would like to do something similiar to with permission please?   Great idea Todd.

Mike -  I always enjoy reading your posts and try not to miss reading all posts when possible to Reliberation from the Point 2 Crew,  your reply posts to Mary's post North, East, South, West, which side is the best? a long with your reply blog For Mary and Her Fang Shooey was a lift to the spirits that Saturday,  I love to read the bantering between all of you,  you have no idea how much it can affect the ability for coping when your down.

Bill's reminder of having your own domain name and email address using the same was sound advice to all,  and I realize the value and importance of this now more than ever.

Jay's suggestion of a press release,  was something I had not even thought about but a fantastic idea.  Now I need to write something up or see if the company has a press release that they use.

Steven and Lonn - I will probably look into the value of having a web based email,  I'm not sure I'm understanding all involved with the pros and cons of having one but I will investigate.

Thank you all once again and I hope I've not forgotten anyone.  I look forward to continued reading at Reliberation and to all your posts.

How many blogs do you have or post to?  Did you do a lot of research before beginning to post, or did you just jump in? Just curious.

I can relate to Mark Cohen's frustration of trying to think of something to blog about.

I'm really new to blogging but really enjoy reading the posts of this group. This really becomes addictive. You all help to enlighten my day!!