1. Consistently pursue your Education. Our reality is changing so rapidly that education is not an option anymore, it is a necessity. To that end, Active Rain is instrumental. I also recommend daily reading of the Wall Street Journal, where one can obtain the same facts the big boys rely on, instead of the watered down version the rest of the media conveys. The various courses offered by NAR are to be taken seriously, for the benefits far outweigh the cost.
•2. Support our core organizations: NAR and AR. Making a concerted effort to support these two organizations with both time and money will strengthen our position as a whole. Contribute to R-
PAC by donating more than the perfunctory amount and get involved within your local boards. Ensure that they are well managed and strong. Be aware of any new bills being introduced at state or federal level that will impact our profession. Contribute to AR by purchasing Localism spots or advertising on the site. If we all give a little, it goes a long way; there is strength in numbers. The one thing I can tell you for certain is that when you try to help someone else, you somehow end up helping yourself. Call it the universal law of attraction, or what have you, but it just works that way.
•3. Build good relationships with your fellow agents. Help each other, support each other, build each other up. Even if you are competitors, in essence you are both soldiers in the same army. Always keep that in mind! By being supportive in every way possible, you are in fact building up your real estate practice. Share your knowledge, give credit where credit is due and work hard to build a good network. If an agent thinks about you with a smile on his face, your listings will get shown more, you will receive more offers and you will be able to put more deals together, because let's face it, how your offer is presented has everything to do with its success, and when it comes to people, money is not the only motivator...
•4. Pay attention to your physical and emotional health. In this market it is easy to work innumerable hours. Control your time and 
put a cap on the amount spent in the trenches of real estate. Develop healthy habits of nutrition and exercise, allocate time for sleep and relaxation; nurture your relationship with family and friends. I recently saw a couple of agents I had not seen in a few years. They have become very successful in Real Estate, but they've aged about 20 years in 5. They've gained a lot of weight and just became old. Don't let Real Estate consume you! Your business is but a facet of your life; it is not your life!
•5. Learn to save money. If you make $4, don't spend $6! If you make $4, spend $.50. Yes, 50 
cents! The rest needs to go into: paying your taxes, paying off debt, health insurance (don't leave yourself uncovered), retirement savings (IRA, SEP, etc.), savings for immediate needs and savings for long term needs. That's quite a chunk, I know, but without being aware of all these areas, you will have a perpetual and vicious cycle of nothing but emergencies...
•6. Make it fun! Why not make it into a game? There are so many unique opportunities inherent in this market that no one is talking about. You can only see them when you adopt a new attitude, one of curiosity and discovery. If you need an attitude adjustment, read my blog: Problems? What Problems? Reality Check and the Pursuit of Happiness
Life's short. Live it well!
Myrtle Beach Real Estate by Mirela Monte Join The Optimist Group!
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Real Estate Brokerage - Sales & Rentals - for the entire coastal region between Charleston, SC and Wilmington, NC. With membership on the Myrtle Beach MLS, Brunswick, Wilmington & Charleston MLS.
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Great roadmap to success and indeed, survival, in these trying times...
You rock Mirela!
Sorry, I couldn't resist it; I just had to pat myself on the back for this blog!
Great post! I would also add - develop relationships with mortgage brokers, cpas, and financial planners.
Darrell: Excellent input! Thank you! I should have included it; I actually practice that, but forgot to preach it.
Good points made. Each of these are important for a well-rounded approach to not only our business but all forms of business. Thanks for your comments.
Mirlea you are so right. These are all basic nuggets of truth that we so easily forget. Excellent reminder. I also love the idea of making it into a game. Great notion.
Suzy: Thank you very much! I'm glad you like the idea of making it fun. If you look at it in the right way, you can make the best of it...
Jon: Thank you! You are right; these work in other businesses as well. Good observation! My concern and focus is with our team...
Good Post! greatly appreciate your ideas!
Mirela, These are some GREAT tips, I agree with EVERY one of them.
I just wish that more people would look at the Education piece. It seems to be a place that no one invests in when they are busy (no time) and no one invest in when they are slow (no money) there is always an excuse to not ... rather than look for a reason and the means "to"!
Mirela-I am seeing many inspirational posts tonight! All excellent tips..
Mirela, I guess my major drawback has been taking time out for myself and my health. I use to run about 5 miles a day. Now I would be lucky to walk that.
Mirela, Great information to live by, hardest for me is #5 when we make it we spend it phylosphy,
Hi Mirela,
I share your outlook and for me it's #3 that makes #6 a reality.
#4 is critical. You may want to add to align yourself with positive people (such as yourself). :)
Life is short, and living well is what makes it worth it's length and beauty. We don't know how many days or hours we have so knowing that should embrace every moment. Nice post.
Being around positive, forward-thinking people is so important... along with exercise! It's amazing how eating a Dairy Queen Blizzard can make me feel so good when I eat it, but boy does that sugar make me bitchy the next day. Splendid post!
Great post and so much good advice - Hope I can take some of it - Good luck!
Hi Mirela - I love each of these bullets you listed. All so important in keeping a positive and upbeat outlook. And you should pat yourself on the back for this post - I can tell by the way you wrote about each item that you really do walk the talk.
Congrats on the gold star - well deserved with this inspiring post!
Ann
Those are all great points. Remember to think about HOW YOU CAN ASSIST OTHERS in the process.
It's called survival of the fittest and if you can't stay fit...you'll drown.
Mirela,
Some great suggestions----It's amazing what we "don't" really need to spend when we pare down our spending habits. I've learned the art of coupon shopping all over again.
t
Great Tips for success. I have recently tried to take more time for my family, to insure that relationships stay in contact.
Mirela - Your post highlights all the things we should be doing regardless of the state of the market. If we were to follow through on each one of them, we can stand head and shoulders above the rest in any market that we face.
Mirela, great post and great habits to pursue, to get through slow times and ensure even greater success; when the market turns you'll be on top of your game.
I am having a very awful morning because I watched Nightline last night! I am a relatively new agent and feel just so deflated that THIS is when I decided to sell real estate. I am resenting every moment it has stolen from my kids and the hours i have put in for nothiing. I needed this post and more like it.
I like No.1. But I do not really like No.2. I do not know what is wrong but I constantly find NAR does not speak for me at all most often the time.
Good advice
Excellent Post. We all choose our path with a hundred tiny decisions every day. This is a good road map to help those lost to make better daily decisions and will work in good and bad markets.
Tim
Mirela, what a great and positive blog. Love that you mentioned building good relationships with fellow agents because you just never know when you will be working with them on a transaction or when they may be referring someone to you. I also loved the mention about taking care of yourself in all ways and remembering that real estate is only a facet of your life. I truly love reading your posts - always uplifting and full of great advice. Have a great day! ~Anne Marie
Greatly stated!
Excellent advice, so simple but so overlooked, it has become a game of mental and physical survival in this crazy old market
Mirela, excellent advice -- but you forgot one important one- keep working like nothing strange is happening. When things straighten up you will be positioned to roll, while others won't be ready.
keep the faith!
I loved it!!! Thank you for great post
This right here is proof that PERSEVERENCE pays off:
I wrote this blog on Sunday and posted it on Monday under a different title. Although I thought the heart of it was good, it did not perform well. I re-wrote it and posted it again yesterday and I was very pleasantly surprised to see it climb the charts and garner the gold star. I knew the message was needed and urgent, and I was going to keep re-writing it until it found its audience...
This, more than anything else, is the core message here: just because you show up and do good work will not necessarily garner the results you need and expect. Going a different route towards the same destination can make all the difference in the world.
I could have said to myself: "Oh, well, I tried; I guess I'm the only one who thinks this message is timely and good." I could have just shrugged it off and forgotten all about it, but I didn't. I thought the message was important. I took another look at the blog, re-wrote it, simplified it and re-inserted it. I was convinced that it had an audience and I was going to keep re-writing it until it succeeded.
THAT is the core message here: Find what works in this market by trying as many different routes as it takes to get to destination!
Happy Trails!
Nelva, Brad and Angela (NOT Angelina!!!), Residential home funding, Neal, Norma, Kurt, Midori: Thank you very much for your comments! I appreciate your support!
Robert: I love what you said about education! It is so true:
I just wish that more people would look at the Education piece. It seems to be a place that no one invests in when they are busy (no time) and no one invest in when they are slow (no money) there is always an excuse to not ... rather than look for a reason and the means "to"!
Mirela, What an inspiration post. If everyone developed these strategies how much better would our job be. I am having trouble with real estate consuming me and need to devote more time to myself, that has always been hard for me.
Larry: I don't know why people are so hard on themselves. You running 5 miles is way above average, and a lot more than most people ever even dream of doing. If you walk 5 miles you are still at the top of the heap. Give yourself a pat on the back for walking by 20 mailboxes; most people don't even do that!
I think we need to change our thinking and become kinder and more understanding with ourselves. I pat myself on the back for ANY exercise I perform. I carry my gym bag with me at all times and I try to squeeze in some form of exercise daily. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't. When I am able to do it I feel much better, when I don't, I pay the consequences (I have less energy and my body hurts; I need my daily stretches at least). I once went to the gym half an hour before it closed. The girls out front looked at me funny and reminded me that it will be closing in half an hour. I told them: "A half hour of exercise is better than no exercise!"
Giving yourself a gold star when you do something good for yourself and forgiving yourself when you are bad, is a better confidence booster, and it will probably lead you to be better to yourself overall. Guilt doesn't work very well; positive enforcement does!
If your business suffers from real estate blues brought on by plummeting prices, it may come as little comfort to know that this trend was supposed to have ended by now. When the market began its downturn in early 2006, some of the smartest economists in the country, as well as the CEOs of major home-builders and the National Association of Realtors, predicted that prices would rebound by mid-2007. Instead the experts have been humbled by the depth and breadth of the downturn - and the resulting sub-prime credit crisis has shaken financial markets around the world.
Expect tremors to keep shaking the real estate market along multiple fault lines in 2008. Here are the winners and losers in the housing, rental and commercial categories.
UP MARKETS: As a whole, the national housing market will finally hit bottom - and start bouncing back - at the end of 2008, says Celia Chen, director of housing economics at Economy.com, a subsidiary of the financial rating agency Moody's (Charts). But more than a dozen major metro areas are already ahead of the curve, and enjoying modest but significant price appreciation.
Markets such as Atlanta, Austin and Dallas didn't draw enough speculators to skew prices during the housing boom. Yet they boast sufficient employment and income growth to increase demand for housing. Mobile, Ala., surprisingly, is poised to be a top performer in this group of metros: in recent years it's seen only a trickle of new housing but is currently booming thanks to billions of dollars worth of new mega-projects.
WHAT IT MEANS: Small business owners in these regions will still be able to tap home equity loans for funds, or won't face calls on existing loans from banks because of declining values.
DOWN MARKETS: The regions that will likely lag the national recovery are Phoenix, Las Vegas, south Florida and California's Central Valley. Although publicly-traded home builders packed these areas with inventory, prices soared beyond reason thanks to easy credit and an abundance of speculators who never intended to occupy the homes they bought.
In some cases the inventory glut will take years to clear, even at heavily discounted prices. Phoenix currently offers about 55,000 listings, the highest in the Arizona capital's history, in addition to an estimated 15,000 spec houses.
"Builders have now dropped new three-bedroom, single-family homes as low as $130,000," says Frank Owens, a local real estate analyst and headhunter for the home-building industry. "That's unheard of. The lowest we'd see a year ago was $200,000."
WHAT IT MEANS: In these cities, stagnation equals opportunity for entrepreneurs: Because a big slice of the local labor force was employed in the broader housing sector, the downturn has shaken loose many workers who are desperate for a new gig and not so picky about pay.
THE RENTAL MARKET: By some estimates, the clampdown on easy credit provoked by the subprime crisis will ultimately wipe out 25% of national demand for housing. That's good news for landlords, predicts Todd Sinai, an associate professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
Look for two ingredients: a high concentration of sub-prime borrowers and average income levels near the national average, or lower. "One-time homebuyers will be relegated to renters because young households will have an even harder time amassing a down payment," says Sinai. Memphis and St. Louis, come on down!
WHAT IT MEANS: Commercial rents will remain stable in these areas, because the general economy is slowing and there won't be much new competition for office and retail space.
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE: Thanks to a white-hot tech sector and a renewed surge of VC funding for Internet start-ups, office rents in the Bay Area are testing records set during the dotcom bubble. But the trend is moving in the opposite in bellwether markets such as New York.
Having been the shining star of real estate for the past two years, the commercial market is due for a slump. A dramatic rise in commercial mortgage rates this year, and tougher bank lending standards have sidelined buyers. Many record-setting deals are falling apart. Prices for office buildings, hotels and shopping centers around the country may fall by double digits, commercial analysts now concede.
Perhaps the most telling indicator is legendary developer Sam Zell, once lord of the largest commercial real estate portfolio in history. A legendary market-timer, Zell sold his holdings to a private equity firm for $39 billion last February.
Selling is more on convincing people to what you say and in terms of selling property at Miami real estate market; you really need to have a strategy in convincing people to buy your home. But you need to take note of some important things you need before selling your property.
You must be aware of other sellers in your area and be competitive enough because you might be left out by these professional home sellers. Have a look of other's homes that are for sale and see what the things that they offer on their buyers are. Also, you need to know the things that a buyer wants in a home. Ask yourself on what are the things you need if you are the one who will buy a home. Make a list of those things and if possible make it possible to attract buyers.
One good way on how to attract buyer is by doing a make over on your house. And most real estate agents will likely need to suggest having a make over on the home so it will look attractive to the passers by. Clean the surroundings of the home and make sure that all unnecessary things are put into trash.
If there are things that need to fix find time to fix those facilities and make it in order. Of course if you were going to buy a home all facilities should be a good working condition. And while waiting for the buyer you need to maintain cleanliness in your home. Remove personal things so buyers can visualize that the home can be their own as they look on your home.
Make sure that you have a good strategy on letting know the people that your home is for sale. A big house for sale poster in front of your home is a good way of advertising your home. Don't forget to include you8r contact number and make it visible and readable by passers by.
You may ask a real estate agent to help you out selling your home. Usually these agents do have a lot of list of prospected buyers so it would be easy for you to find a buyer for your house. Expect some phone calls and be ready for visitors that want to take a look inside your home. As much as possible answer all their question promptly and immediately, so your buyers wont have a bad impression on you and your home.
Siesta Key real estate market is a very competitive market that is why selling home is difficult. With a lot of sellers on the market you should be patient enough to compete and wait for the one that can give you a great deal in selling your Siesta Key real estate property.
Endre: #5 is hard for everybody! Show me a single person who doesn't enjoy instant gratification! As my mother says:
"If it was easy, everyone would be doing it!"
I'll be back to address the other comments later on today.
Great Reminders to all of us. Staying postive and thinking long term about how you want your business to grow will get us through every down turn. Postion yourself as a market leader even when things in tough and the business will keep coming.
Alex Olmo I have a bone to pick with you!
You gave me such an EXTRAORDINARY comment! WOW! WOW! ...and WOW again!
I went to your blog to read the rest of your posts and guess what I found there?
NOTHING!
You are succinct, educated, you're obviously a good writer, in tune with the market, yet you don't have a single post. WHY????
Please give me a present today: Copy and paste your comment and make it your first blog. If you need help doing that, please call me and I will help you. It's just as easy as it is to comment; you just need a title. Before you post it, please join 5 groups, including the Optimist Group! When you post your blog, please insert it to the 5 groups AND to Localism for the particular area you service. Someone of your stature needs to be heard. Please do it! I look forward to reading your blogs!
Thank you very much for the extraordinary comment! After you make your comment into your first blog, I will re-blog it.
I think your third comment is often overlooked by agents. I've been involved in negotiations with other agents whose primary motivation is "winning." Deals that are conducted in this manner have a higher incidence of falling apart, and the ensuing bad feelings linger on long after the seller has sold and the buyer has bought. I try really hard to have a good relationship with the other agent because we will work together again in the future. One deal is not worth ruining a relationship.
Great food for thought and straight from the heart. Good ideas to go by and right on for support of our industry.
Mirela, I do love this post! There are going to be agents who do well in this market, and they will be the ones who follow your advice.
Mirela, I do love this post! There are going to be agents who do well in this market, and they will be the ones who follow your advice.
#7 Blog???
Down times are where we strive to find other avenues to succeed. If it were not for the slow times, I would not have thought of blogging. I have been testing the field a bit and learning a bit and am totally shocked at the branding results via Google searches from blogging.
#8 Stay optimistic and smile......
Have a great day........
#7- If your old niche is not producing ... don't abandon it but mine the other areas that you've neglected. There is never a lack of opportunity in any market. Right now there are some amazing properties that are available at unbelievable prices.
Mirela, Congratulation on your Featured post... an other one, good for you girl! You are a ball of fire and contagious optimism. I admire your limitless devotion and energy to write and improve at a ballistic speed. Wow!... just wow!I remember your first posts, the anguish you were experiencing about how things work around here on AR and picking up others brain. It was first time we've meat. Since than you went all up and I went all down -:))))))))))
I am so proud of you!
Mirela, you were right about Alex's comment - he's a sensational writer! Just checked out his blog and he has 5 postings now. Looks like he's brand new.